GEORGE  ROIHWELL 


BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 


"Look,  there  he  is  now !" 

See  page  242. 


BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

A  TALE  OF  LOVE  AND  PIRATE  GOLD 


BY 
GEORGE  ROTHWELL  BROWN 

Author  of  "My  Country" 


ILLUSTRATED  BY 

REGINALD  F.  BOLLES 


BOSTON 

SMALL,  MAYNARD  &  COMPANY 
PUBLISHERS 


Copyright,  1919, 
BY  SMALL,  MAYNARD  &  COMPANY 

(1KCOBPOBAIED) 


TO 

THE   MEMORY  OF 

ALFRED  HENRY  LEWIS 


2134508 


"  Push  off,  and  sitting  well  in  order  smite 

The  sounding  furrows ;  for  my  purpose  holds 
To  sail  beyond  the  sunset,  and  the  baths 
Of  all  the  western  stars  until  I  die." 

ULYSSES 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I     "MONSIEUR  LURONNE" i 

II  YELLOW  EYES      .........     17 

III  THE  SHIP  OF  BRIDES 35 

IV  THREE-LEGS 49 

V    BRAS-DE-MORT •     •     59 

VI     THE  CASTLE  ON  THE  HILL 78 

VII     SOMEBODY  SETS  A  TRAP 93 

VIII    A  FRIEND  TO  THE  RESCUE 120 

IX     A  BAD  NIGHT'S  WORK 142 

X     ST.  GEORGE  FOR  ENGLAND 178 

XI  THREE  HUNDRED  THOUSAND  CROWNS     .   195 

XII    THE  PIRATES'  ISLAND 219 

XIII  CAPTAIN  MORGAN  LOSES  A  PRIZE   .     .     .  244 

XIV  CAPTAIN  STILLINGFLEET  TAKES  COMMAND  259 
XV  YVONNE     .     .     .     .     ,     ....     .  277 

XVI    JIM  RIMBLE'S  KEEPSAKE 296 


BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 


BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 


CHAPTER  I 


'MONSIEUR  LURONNE" 


"Truly,  thou  art  my  very  son,  dear  child," 
said  Colonel  Chillingworth,  resting  the  point  of 
his  blade  upon  the  floor,  and  panting  from  his 
exertions.  "Thou  hast  fair  winded  me,  what 
with  the  vigor  of  thy  arm  and  the  cleverness  of 
thy  wrist.  I  have  reared  up  a  pupil  who  is 
better  than  her  master." 

His  daughter  laughed,  and,  fondling  her 
rapier,  nodded  gaily  when  she  saw  that  he  was 
rested  and  ready  to  begin  again.  And  so  the 
shining  blades  flashed  and  sparkled  once  more, 
and  made  merry  music  which  so  entranced 
them  that  they  did  not  hear  the  door  when  it 
opened,  nor  Algernon  Sidney  when  he  came 
softly  into  the  room  and  stood  quietly  in  the 
corner,  watching  them  at  play. 


2  BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

Presently,  the  man's  slender  steel  was 
plucked  from  his  grasp  and  went  spinning 
through  the  air.  The  visitor  dodged,  just  in 
time,  for  the  point  buried  itself  in  the  floor 
where  he  had  stood ;  and  Nancy,  looking  away 
from  her  father's  deep,  steady  eyes  for  the  first 
time,  saw  him,  and  holding  out  her  hand,  bade 
him  welcome,  saying  that  they  had  been  but 
waiting  for  him,  and  so  amused  themselves,  to 
kill  the  time  till  he  should  come,  in  their  favor- 
ite manner. 

"Aye,  'tis  a  great  delight  to  me,  Sidney,"  said 
Colonel  Chillingworth,  "for  now  the  lass  hath 
more  skill  than  ever  I  boasted  in  my  youth,  and 
a  better  hold  upon  the  pummel  of  her  sword 
than  I  have  taught  her,  so  that  I  know  not  how 
she  came  on  it." 

"Thou  wast  never  a  great  student  of  the  laws 
of  heredity,"  said  his  friend,  drily. 

"Nay,  I  am  no  bookworm,"  replied  Colonel 
Chillingworth,  half  banteringly.  "Not  that  I 
would  neglect  the  mind,  but  I  have  ever  believed 
that  a  clean  soul  must  have  a  healthy  house  in 
which  to  live.  It  gives  me  joy  to  see  upon  my 
daughter's  face,  and  to  feel  in  the  muscles  of 


"MONSIEUR  LURONNE"  3 

her  arm,  the  glowing  health  this  exercise  has 
brought  to  her.  Why,  an'  she  were  a  boy — " 

Algernon  Sidney  threw  back  his  head,  and 
laughed.  "Ah !  Chillingworth,"  he  said,  "thou 
knowest  well  thou  lovest  this  sport  for  its  own 
sake,  and  the  maid,  too,  so  have  done  with  all 
this  preaching  of  Puritanism,  save  in  your 
politics,  and  give  some  bridle  to  the  Cavalier 
strain  in  thy  blood  that  has  made  thee  the 
soldier  that  thou  art.  As  for  this  lass  of  thine 
not  having  been  a  boy — it  is  not  kind  to  her 
always  to  speak  thy  heedless  thought,  nor 
honest,  neither,  unless  I  read  thee  wrong,  for  I 
do  think  the  wound  of  that  regret  is  long  since 
healed." 

"That  is  true,"  replied  Colonel  Chilling- 
worth  quickly,  "and  yet,"  casting  upon  his 
daughter  a  look  of  deep  affection,  "I  wish  that 
for  this  task  that  now  confronts  her  she  had 
the  roughness  of  a  man." 

"Nonsense!"  said  Sidney,  briskly.  "I  war- 
rant you  the  maid  hath  more  wit  than  any  lad 
of  her  years.  You  will  unnerve  her  for  her 
work  before  she  makes  a  fair  start,  with  your 
doubts  of  her  ability  to  do  it  well,  which  I  am 


4  BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

sure  she  will,  and  in  good  time,  too.  I  have  no 
fears  for  her,  not  one." 

"Aye,  but  she  is  my  daughter,  Sidney,"  an- 
swered Colonel  Chillingworth  in  a  low  tone, 
and  drawing  within  the  circle  of  his  arm  'he 
slender,  blue-eyed  stripling  who  stood  upon  die 
hearth  rug  before  the  fire  in  front  of  them. 
"My  daughter!  My  only  child;  and  the 
journey  before  her  is  a  long  one,  bad  enough 
in  times  of  peace ;  one  fraught  with  many  dan- 
gers in  times  like  these.  I  am  almost  of  a 
mind  to  abandon  the  plan,  and  go  myself,  in  her 
stead." 

"  'Twere  madness,  Chillingworth.  Your 
neck  would  pay  the  forfeit,  and  Mistress  Nancy 
would  lose  her  only  parent,  and  the  Cause  an 
arm  and  brain  we  cannot  spare.  We  have 
threshed  it  all  out — there  is  no  other  way." 

Colonel  Chillingworth  threw  himself  into  a 
low  settle  by  the  fire,  and  buried  his  head  in 
his  hands.  There  was  a  moment  of  silence, 
and  then  a  girl's  voice,  laughing  silverly. 

"I  am  all  ready,  General  Sidney,"  Nancy 
said,  running  her  hand  caressingly  through 


her  father's  thick  gray  hair.  "I  think  the  plan 
we  have  made  is  perfect.  It  cannot  fail." 

"She  hath  more  spunk  than  thou  didst  show 
at  Marston  Moor,  I  do  believe,  Chillingworth," 
chuckled  his  companion.  "Upon  my  honor,  I 
feel  quite  sure  that  Mistress  Nancy  will  be  in 
no  more  danger  upon  the  road  than  if  she  re- 
mained here  in  France,  with  a  cloud  of  gallants 
trapesing  at  her  petticoats." 

"Much  I  care  for  them,"  said  the  girl, 
tossing  her  head,  while  her  father's  face  dark- 
ened. 

"That  is  one  reason,"  he  said  slowly,  "why 
I  am  glad  to  have  her  go  back  to  England, 
where  a  woman  is  a  woman — and  not  a  play- 
thing." 

"Moreover,"  went  on  Sidney,  "since  the  mes- 
sage she  is  to  carry  is  a  verbal  one,  and  she 
will  have  no  papers,  I  cannot  see  how  she  can 
be  compromised.  Upon  my  soul,  in  that  garb 
she  makes  as  brave-looking  a  lad  as  ever  I 
hope  to  see — and  doesn't  look  a  day  over  nine- 
teen." 

"And  why  should  I,  pray,"  cried  Nancy, 


BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

"'/he  lady  it  seems,  will  have  naught  of  me." 

A  srmh  beamed  in  the  eyes  of  Godfrey  Stil- 
]'iig-;'.ect.  1  hen  they  darkened  quickly  as  the 
;•  r.itv  cidJed  with  genuine  feeling  in  his  voice. 

'  Hie  hath  promised  herself  to  another. 
\:icath"  he  finished  savagely,  and  putting  his 
hand  a^ain  upon  the  hilt  of  his  pistol,  "per- 
chance thou  art  the  man." 

"Nay,"  answered  Captain  Stillingfleet,  while 
Nancy  hung  her  head  and  would  not  look  at 
him.  "That  is  not  my  good  fortune." 

"  'Sblood !  Since  we  are  both  in  the  same 
boat,  it  should  be  easy  for  us  to  come  to  terms. 
Go  away  with  me  on  this  adventure  and  you 
shall  fare  as  I  do,  forty  shares  between  us,  and 
as  for  the  girl,  an'  you  please,  we  will  let  the 
dice  decide  that  issue  between  us  two." 

Captain  Stillingfleet  took  a  step  forward. 
"Get  out  of  my  round-house,"  he  said.  There 
was  no  sound  for  a  long  instant  but  the  shuf- 
fling of  the  men's  feet  and  the  lapping  of  the 
tide  along  the  side.  Nancy  looked  up,  her 
eyes  smiling,  a  great  contentment  in  her  heart, 
her  mind  at  rest. 

"You  refuse  me?"  demanded  the  buccaneer. 


CAPTAIN  STILLINGFLEET      263 

"When  we  go  pirating,  we  go  on  our  own  ac- 
count," replied  Godfrey  Stillingfleet,  "asking 
favors  of  none,  sharing  our  booty  only  amonj 
ourselves." 

There  was  a  murmur  of  approval  behind 
him,  and  Barney's  shrill  voice  chortling  as  h" 
capered  about  the  deck  outside. 

"As  for  the  girl,"  added  Captain  Stillinrr- 
fleet,  "though  she  be  not  master  here,  she  is 
mistress.  We  are  guided  not  by  her  com- 
mands, but  by  her  wishes.  If  she  declines  to 
marry  you  or  have  aught  to  do  with  your 
schemes,  Captain  Morgan,  rest  assured  she  will 
not  lack  for  arms  to  back  up  those  refusals." 

The  satisfaction  of  the  crew  of  the  Snap- 
dragon, that  is  to  say,  of  the  Englishmen  who 
had  escaped  from  Tortuga,  increased  at  this, 
and  Barney's  countenance  thrust  between  Jim 
Rimble's  knotty  legs  bore  a  smile  so  incredibly 
vast  that  one  would  have  sworn  he  did  not  have 
a  freckle  to  his  name. 

"Aye!"  boomed  Jim  Rimble,  rolling  his  eyes 
at  his  mates  as  he  spoke.  "She  will  not  lack 
for  arms." 

"Since  that  is  your  decision,"  replied  Cap- 


8  BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

graceful  movement  that  brought  into  relief  her 
dainty  limbs,  encased  in  crimson  stockings  and 
fawn-colored  loose  breeches. 

She  also  wore  a  short  coat,  in  the  new  fash- 
ion, slashed  in  the  sleeves  to  show  her  white 
linen,  and  ribbons  everywhere,  at  the  knees, 
in  loops  at  her  waist,  and  tying  the  periwig  at 
the  ends. 

On  the  back  of  the  settle  was  a  brown  rid- 
ing cloak,  and  on  the  table  in  the  middle  of  the 
room  a  broad-brimmed  Cavalier's  hat,  with  a 
sweeping  red  plume.  The  latter  she  adjusted 
with  careless  grace. 

A  rather  tall,  lank,  long-limbed  creature, 
Mistress  Nancy  had  scarcely  yet  reached  the 
threshold  of  womanhood.  Hers  were  the  deli- 
cate and  elusive  charms  of  girlish  beauty. 
Smiles  lurked  in  the  corners  of  her  wide  blue 
eyes,  as  if  they  were  half  afraid  to  brave  the 
displeasure  of  her  firm,  strong  mouth,  a  mouth 
so  like  that  of  her  father,  that  Sidney,  struck 
by  the  resemblance,  and  remembering  that 
eventful  day  on  Marston  Moor,  when  Chil- 
lingworth  had  fought  his  way  to  where  he  lay 
wounded,  and  had  saved  his  life,  felt  steal  into 


"MONSIEUR  LURONNE"  9 

his  soul  an  abiding  confidence  and  faith  in  her, 
and  in  the  success  of  the  mission  upon  which 
they  were  about  to  send  her. 

Absent  from  England  at  the  Restoration, 
Algernon  Sidney  had  gone  in  1659  to  Holland 
to  negotiate  a  treaty  between  Sweden  and  Den- 
mark, nor  had  he  been  back  home  since  then. 
In  the  Low  Countries  he  had  vainly  sought  aid 
for  the  movement  to  establish  a  republican  gov- 
ernment in  England,  a  movement  into  which 
he  had  thrown  himself  with  a  fervor  that  was 
more  intellectual  than  religious,  and,  failing, 
he  had  come  to  France,  where  he  was  one  of 
the  leaders  in  a  continuous  conspiracy  for  the 
overthrow  of  the  Stuarts  and  the  monarchy, 
from  which  he  had  gained  nothing  but  his  own 
banishment. 

In  Paris  he  had  been  joined  by  Colonel  Chil: 
lingworth,  who  had  served  with  him  in  Ire- 
land, had  gone  over  to  Cromwell,  and  had  been 
compelled  to  fly  for  his  life  when  Charles,  com- 
ing back  to  London  as  the  King,  had  begun  to 
inflict  upon  his  former  enemies  those  open  and 
covert  punishments  which  were  making  him 
detested  throughout  the  free-thinking  world, 


266         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

The  buccaneer  made  no  move  to  return  to 
his  own  ship  when  the  first  boat-load  of  lead 
went  over  the  side  and  was  pulled  off,  nor  did 
any  of  the  victuals  and  provisions  he  had  prom- 
ised in  return  make  an  appearance.  Two  of 
his  men  he  dispatched  to  the  island  with  orders 
which  he  whispered  to  them,  and  then  fell  to 
pacing  the  deck  again  moodily,  as  the  Snap- 
dragon's crew  toiled  over  their  task  in  the  broil- 
ing sun. 

Now  and  then  the  pirate  turned  upon  Cap- 
tain Stillingfleet  his  searching  eyes,  but  there 
was  something  in  the  young  fellow's  Saxon 
face  tliat  evidently  did  not  wholly  please  him. 
For  after  such  scrutinies  he  would  scowl  and 
grind  his  jaws  and  turn  his  attention  to  the 
men,  as  if  mentally  taking  stock  of  them.  And 
Stillingfleet,  quite  well  aware  that  the  buc- 
caneer had  sailed  with  some  of  them  in  the 
past,  was  not  easy  in  his  mind. 

Casting  an  eye  ashore,  he  observed  that  the 
buccaneers  were  flocking  down  to  the  beach 
in  large  numbers  and  putting  off  in  small  boats. 

Convincing  himself  of  this,  he  turned  from 
the  rail  to  find  Morgan  deep  in  converse  with 


CAPTAIN  STILLINGFLEET      267 

Jim  Rimble,  and  stepping  quickly  up  to  them, 
not  liking  the  look  he  saw  in  the  sailor's  eyes, 
he  heard  the  pirate  captain  say  something 
about  "Maracaibo,"  and  saw  Jim  Rimble  go 
off  amon^  the  men  forward.  Stillingfleet 
pulled  out  a  pistol. 

"Hark  ye,  Captain  Morgan,"  he  said.  "I 
am  not  the  man  to  stand  for  anybody  stirring 
up  mutiny  on  my  ship."  And  with  this  he 
presented  his  piece  at  the  pirate's  head,  and 
cocked  it. 

Morgan  laughed  in  his  face,  the  coarse, 
reckless,  self-confident  laugh  of  a  strong  man 
who  felt  sure  of  his  ground. 

"What  if  I  did  speak  with  these  men?"  he 
returned.  "Will  they  hold  it  against  me  that 
I  offer  them  a  chance  for  gold?" 

Some  of  the  men  nearest  them,  seeing  what 
was  going  on,  stopped  their  work,  now  almost 
done,  for  the  lead  was  all  on  deck,  and  slouched 
up.  Captain  Morgan  caught  Jim  Rimble's 
eye  and  smiled  at  him. 

Jim  Rimble  grinned  back,  pulling  at  his  fore- 
lock and  shifting  uneasily  on  his  feet.  He 
had  chipped  off  from  some  of  the  pigs  of  lead 


12  BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

than  really  known,  that  her  stern  soldier- 
father  had  always  cherished  in  his  heart  a  deep 
regret  that  his  only  child  had  not  been  a  boy, 
and  now  that  an  opportunity  offered,  she  was 
willing  and  eager  to  prove  that  a  woman  could 
serve  her  country  and  her  cause  as  boldly  and 
sagaciously  as  a  man. 

A  Devon  girl,  reared  in  the  very  hotbed  of 
Puritanism,  at  a  time  when  all  England  was 
torn  by  civil  wars,  could  not  very  well  escape 
those  influences  which  make  for  ruggedness  of 
character,  and  Nancy  Chillingworth  was  a  De- 
vonshire girl  to  the  tips  of  her  fingers.  She 
had  spent  much  of  her  childhood  in  Plymouth, 
while  her  father  was  at  the  wars  in  Scotland, 
with  her  maiden  aunt,  Mistress  Faith  Crul- 
ler, who  proved  so  inadequate  to  the  task  of 
rearing  a  high-spirited  girl  that  Nancy  grew 
up  as  little  spoiled  by  the  gloom  of  Puritanism 
as  any  girl  in  England.  She  spent  her  time 
in  the  shipyards,  in  a  nest  of  chips  and  shav- 
ings, watching  the  men  lay  down  the  keel  of 
some  vessel,  or  fashioning  with  plank  and  spar 
a  great  ship,  that  she  was  later  to  see  float 


"MONSIEUR  LURONNE"  13 

down  the  Catwater,  and  so  sail  away  to  the 
distant  seas. 

On  the  docks,  when  barks  dropped  anchor, 
battered  by  storm,  or  showing  the  scars  of 
the  fights  they  had  been  in,  she  would  listen 
with  shining  eyes  to  the  stories  the  mariners 
told  of  their  adventures.  She  loved  to  go  into 
the  deep-bellied  merchantmen,  or  the  men-of- 
war,  lying  in  the  harbor,  until  she  came  to  be 
as  much  at  home  on  shipboard  as  in  her  aunt's 
front  yard. 

Sometimes  she  would  spend  hours  sprawled 
upon  the  deck,  absorbed  in  "Master  Tapp's 
Sea-man's  Kalender,"  for  books,  in  her  home, 
were  scarce;  and  her  eager  mind  drank  up  all 
the  knowledge  of  the  sea  thus  spread  before 
her — how  ships  are  built  and  rigged  and  vic- 
tualed and  sailed,  so  that  she  might  have  got 
a  berth  on  any  vessel  out  of  Devon  had  she  not 
been  a  girl. 

Boys  were  her  companions,  and  she  entered 
into  all  their  sports  and  games,  and  by  the 
time  she  was  fifteen  could  sail  a  boat  with  any 
of  them.  As  these  sturdy  lads  grew  up  and 


270          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

like  a  madman,  as  if  suddenly  bereft  of  his 
senses. 

With  the  bit  of  metal  clutched  in  his  fingers 
he  rushed  among  the  men,  forcing  them  to  look 
upon  it,  pointing  to  it,  making  the  most  horrible 
grimaces  in  his  hopeless  efforts  to  speak. 
Catching  sight  of  a  long-boat  loaded  with  the 
lead  and  made  fast  at  the  side,  he  threw  himself 
into  her  and  groveled  among  the  pigs,  covering 
them  with  his  slobbery  kisses,  caressing  them, 
endeavoring  to  carry  one  in  his  arms.  This 
being  too  much  for  even  his  great  strength, 
he  scrambled  back  over  the  bulwarks  and  ran 
about  again  among  the  men,  grunting  and 
groaning. 

"Curse  the  fellow!"  cried  Captain  Morgan, 
backing  away  from  him,  and  all  but  stumbling 
overboard  in  his  haste.  "He  must  be 
possessed  of  the  devil.  I  wrould  not  have  him 
on  my  ship  for  all  the  gold  in  Peru.  Speak, 
fcol,  and  have  done  with  thy  gibberish. 
What  art  thou  trying  to  say?  The  sight  of  so 
imr1!  lead  hath  befuddled  thee.  When  I  cast 
it,  T  shall  have  a  care  to  make  a  bullet  that  will 
fit  thv  skull." 


CAPTAIN  STILLINGFLEET      271 

Yellow  Eyes,  who  had  stopped  his  frenzy 
to  listen  to  this  speech,  went  fairly  beside  him- 
self, his  tongueless  gullet  filled  with  froth,  his 
great  arms  moving  convulsively.  Little  Co- 
chinillo,  crossing  himself  piously,  as  if  he  had 
been  a  real  monk,  scurried  for  the  side,  shout- 
ing at  the  top  of  his  voice : 

"He's  a  witch!  He's  a  witch!"  and  dived 
into  the  sea. 

The  pirates  waited  for  no  more.  With 
blanched  faces  they  made  a  rush  for  their 
boats  and  tumbled  into  them,  shaking  and 
trembling. 

"Come  back,  you  fools!"  roared  Captain 
Morgan.  "How  can  a  man  be  a  witch?" 

But  they  paid  no  heed,  and  took  themselves 
off  to  a  safe  distance. 

Stopping  for  a  moment  the  dumb  man 
paused  as  if  thinking,  then  made  a  rush  for  the 
companionway. 

"Don't  let  him  go  below,  men!"  cried  Cap- 
tain Stillingfleet  impulsively.  "He'll  turn  the 
prisoners  loose  or  else  disclose  the  treasure  to 
these  pirates.  Shoot  him  down !" 

With  the  snarl  of  a  wild  animal,  Yellow  Eyes 


16  BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

arms,  kissed  him — and  the  door  had  swung  to 
softly  behind  her,  and  the  two  men  were  stand- 
ing there  alone  in  the  little  room,  looking  at 
each  other  searchingly  in  the  gathering  dusk, 
and  straining  their  ears  for  the  sound  of  her 
footsteps  on  the  stairs. 


CHAPTER  II 

YELLOW   EYES 

It  was  with  a  brave  show  of  more  courage 
than  she  really  felt  that  Monsieur  Luronne  left 
her  father  and  General  Sidney  and  set  forth 
upon  her  mission.  Now,  as  she  stood  in  the 
narrow  street  in  the  gathering  gloom,  she  was 
half-minded  to  fly  back  up  the  stairs;  but  the 
importance  of  the  task  that  lay  before  her,  and 
the  thought  that  the  Calais  coach  must  be  even 
then  standing  at  the  Golden  Rabbit,  with  its 
six  horses  slobbering  at  their  bits,  and  the  pos- 
tilions taking  their  farewell  drinks  at  the  tap- 
room, and  that  it  would  soon  be  off  into  the 
night,  leaving  her  behind  if  she  did  not  bestir 
herself,  spurred  her  into  action. 

With  a  quick  glance  up  and  down  the  dim 
street,  streaked  here  and  there  with  little  paths 
of  light  that  streamed  through  shop  windows 
and  half-opened  doors,  she  drew  her  cloak 
about  her,  and  fell  in  behind  a  couple  of  sol- 

17 


274          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

burnished  eye  along  the  barrel,  just  as  Barney 
McGiggen  and  Three-le^s  came  racing  down 
the  deck  together. 

The  lad  threw  himself  in  front  of  the  girl  as 
the  tongueless  one  fired.  Then  he  pitched 
headlong  to  the  deck  without  a  moan,  while 
Nancy,  at  his  back,  clasped  her  breast  with 
both  hands  and  sank  beside  him,  for  the  same 
bullet  had  pierced  them  both. 

There  was  the  flash  of  a  tawny  body,  and 
with  a  deep-chested  roar  the  three-legged  dog 
for  the  second  time  in  its  short  life  hurled  him- 
self straight  at  the  throat  of  Yellow  Eyes,  and 
his  teeth  met  in  the  man's  corded  neck.  Had 
he  been  a  full-grown  dog,  he  would  have  killed 
him,  but  even  so  the  force  of  his  weight  and  the 
snap  of  those  jaws  bore  the  dumb  man  back- 
ward, and  he  went  down  with  a  crash,  just  as 
Captain  Stillingfleet  rolled  over  in  the  scup- 
pers and  pulled  himself  to  his  feet.  He  took 
the  situation  in  at  a  glance,  and,  observing 
Captain  Morgan  leaning  over  the  rail,  cursing 
his  men  and  ordering  them  to  come  back,  and 
catching  him  unawares,  suddenly  lifted  him 
bodily  in  his  arms  and  hurled  him  overboard. 


CAPTAIN  STILLINGFLEET      275 

"Heave  ahead,  men  in  the  tops,  men  upon 
the  yards!"  he  commanded.  "Get  the  sails  to 
the  yards,  men,  and  step  lively.  Who  is  at  the 
wheel  there?" 

As  Pierre  took  the  helm  and  put  it  over,  he 
cut  the  anchor  cables  with  his  own  hand,  and 
the  Snapdragon  swung  around  and  drifted 
down  the  cove  on  the  tide.  Fired  by  his  zeal, 
and  catching  the  meaning  of  his  hurried  or- 
ders, the  men  flew  to  obey.  Then  Captain 
Stillingfleet  gathered  Nancy  into  his  arms. 
Standing  over  Yellow  Eyes  for  a  moment  he 
said: 

"Now,  lads,  take  the  dog  off  that  human 
devil.  We  will  attend  to  him  later." 

And  then  he  bore  the  girl  into  the  shade  of 
the  round-house  where  he  laid  her  down  again 
upon  the  deck,  her  head  in  Cherie's  lap. 

Bras-de-Mort  and  Jim  Rimble,  manning  the 
gun  on  the  poop,  trained  it  upon  the  pirates 
and  warned  them  that  if  they  fired  with  their 
muskets  or  tried  to  come  aboard  they  would 
sink  them.  Loaded  down  as  they  were  with 
the  pigs  of  lead,  they  dared  not  adventure,  but 
picked  up  Captain  Morgan  and  pulled  off  for 


20  BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

his  importance  in  every  crease  of  his  shiny 
face,  that  looked  as  if  it  had  been  freshly 
larded,  held  in  his  hand  a  small  bit  of  board 
upon  which  he  kept  a  record  of  the  passages 
engaged,  written  in  a  sprawling  hand  with  a 
chunk  of  red  chalk,  so  that  betwixt  the  clumsi- 
ness of  his  fingers  and  the  awkwardness  of  his 
materials,  he  was  frequently  at  as  great  a  loss 
to  read  what  he  had  written  as  he  had  been  at 
first  to  write  it ;  the  more  so  since  he  was  being 
well-nigh  jostled  off  his  feet  by  a  crowd  of 
drovers,  teamsters,  wool-buyers,  soldiers,  torn 
and  ragged,  and  limping  from  their  wounds, 
and  tipsy  sea-men,  on  their  way  back  to  the  fleet 
from  a  spree,  and  most  of  them,  in  consequence 
of  the  good  times  they  had  had,  without  the 
price  of  the  fare,  and  all  the  more  clamorous, 
and  noisy,  and  profane,  for  that  reason. 

Nancy  waited  impatiently  at  first  for  a 
chance  to  claim  her  seat  in  the  coach  for  the 
north,  and  then,  observing  that  she  could  not 
hope  to  accomplish  her  purpose  by  such  mod- 
est tactics,  she  placed  herself  behind  a  rotund 
little  French  monk,  who  was  worming  his  way 
toward  the  landlord,  butting  those  about  him 


YELLOW  EYES  21 

with  his  head,  clawing  and  scratching  at 
others  who  stood  in  his  way,  or  shoving  them 
aside  with  a  pair  of  enormous  shoulders  which 
made  him  seem  almost  as  broad  as  he  was 
long.  Soon  Nancy  had  the  satisfaction  of 
perceiving  that  she  was  slowly  but  surely  ap- 
proaching the  center  of  the  landlord's  magic 
circle. 

She  was  just  congratulating  herself  on  her 
shrewdness  when  a  gigantic  Norman  pikeman 
hurled  her  aside,  that  he  might  take  her  place 
in  the  wake  of  the  energetic  little  friar,  so  that 
she  reeled  backward  and  would  have  gone 
sprawling  if  a  strong  hand  had  not  grasped  her 
by  the  cravat  and  whirled  her,  spinning,  back 
upon  her  feet. 

"Merci,  monsieur,"  she  gasped,  and  looked 
into  a  pair  of  merry  blue  eyes  that  twinkled  in 
the  face  of  a  red-haired  lad  whose  countenance 
proclaimed  his  nationality  as  unmistakably  as 
if  a  map  of  Donegal  had  been  printed  upon  it. 

It  was  so  full  of  freckles  that  it  would  have 
been  difficult  to  say  whether  there  were  a  mil- 
lion of  them,  or  just  one  large  one.  His  nose 
turned  up  at  an  angle ;  but  it  was  his  mouth  that 


22  BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

made  Nancy  feel  that  she  had  known  him  all 
her  life;  such  a  laughing,  whimsical  mouth  it 
was,  with  red  lips  parted  to  show  two  rows  of 
glistening  teeth,  and  a  carmine  rag  of  a  tongue 
that  curled  out  of  the  corners  on  the  slightest 
provocation. 

"Faith,  monsieur!"  he  said  with  the  rich 
brogue  of  a  North-of-Irelander,  "you  could 
better  dance  a  minuet  than  the  step  you  need 
to  fight  your  way  in  there.  Are  you  by  the 
Brussels  coach  ?" 

"For  Calais/'  answered  Mistress  Nancy  in 
English,  and  pulling  her  hat  down  further  over 
her  eyes.  "My  seat  has  been  engaged  these 
two  days  gone,  but  I  wish  to  see  that  no  mis- 
take has  been  made,  and  claim  my  place." 

"English  you  are?  Faith,  and  I  took  you 
for  a  Pollyvooer,  I  did.  Heed  a  word  of  wis- 
dom, sir,  and  claim  your  seat  yourself,  while 
the  pickings  good.  It's  filling  up  inside,  and 
you'll  have  to  be  quick  to  get  a  place.  And 
get  inside — it'll  be  airish  toward  the  coast  to- 
night, I'm  thinking." 

"Are  you  by  the  Calais  coach?"  she  asked 
him,  hesitating. 


YELLOW  EYES  23 

"If  I  can  work  my  way,  I  am.  They  usually 
need  a  hand  with  the  horses  at  the  last  minute, 
and  it's  my  meat  this  night  if  I  have  to  com- 
mit a  murther  to  get  it." 

"Should  I  get  in  at  once,  then?"  demanded 
the  girl,  moving  toward  the  coach,  and  then 
stopping,  in  doubt. 

"Sure,  and  I  would,"  and  with  this  he  pulled 
open  the  door  of  the  coach  and  gave  her  a  "leg 
up,"  hurling  her  bodily  within,  just  in  time 
to  rob  a  portly  sheep-dealer,  who  otherwise 
would  have  secured  the  last  of  the  coveted 
places,  but  who  proved  no  match  for  Nancy's 
enforced  agility. 

Wedged  in  between  the  little  monk,  whose 
energy  had  rewarded  him,  and  who  snored  al- 
ready, like  a  trooper,  on  the  one  side,  and  a 
wheezy  tradesman  on  the  other,  who  coughed, 
and  choked,  and  spluttered  and  blew  until  he 
shook  the  whole  coach,  Nancy  settled  herself  as 
comfortably  as  possible,  and  tried  to  turn  a  deaf 
ear  to  the  sheep-dealer,  who  complained  bit- 
terly of  the  effect  the  night  air  on  the  top  of 
the  coach  would  have  upon  his  rheumatism. 
She  was  almost  ready,  to  be  rid  of  him,  to  sur- 


24  BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

render  him  her  seat,  when  he  discovered  that  it 
was  the  Brussels  coach  that  he  wanted,  and 
went  plunging  away  into  the  crowd,  cursing 
and  groaning. 

It  was  long  past  the  hour  of  departure  al- 
ready, but  not  until  both  of  Nancy's  feet  had 
gone  to  sleep,  and  she  felt  as  if  a  million  needles 
were  pricking  holes  in  them,  and  her  spine 
seemed  to  have  been  driven  clear  through  the 
hard  wooden  seat,  from  which  most  of  the  stuff- 
ing and  leather  had  been  rubbed  and  scraped 
by  a  generation  of  restless  travelers,  did  the 
coach  finally  get  away,  heaving  and  lurching 
over  the  cobble-stones. 

As  it  rumbled  through  the  dim  street,  past 
the  pastry-cook's,  under  whose  dark  eaves  she 
knew  two  anxious  men  watched  for  her  signal, 
she  contrived,  by  leaning  over  the  fat  paunch 
of  the  snoring  monk,  to  hang  her  hat  from  the 
window,  waving  it  as  long  as  she  thought  they 
were  in  sight.  But  whether  her  father  and 
General  Sidney  were  able  to  see  it  in  the  dark- 
ness of  the  poorly  lighted  street  she  had  no 
way  of  discovering,  and  was  compelled  to  trust 
to  their  eagerness  to  sharpen  their  eyes. 


YELLOW  EYES  25 

Soon  they  were  through  the  city  gates,  the 
fortifications  were  left  behind,  and  the  horses 
strained  in  their  harnesses  over  the  muddy  ruts 
of  the  road  which  stretched  away  ahead  of 
them  through  the  gloom. 

The  excitement  and  the  novelty  of  her 
strange  position  kept  her  awake  for  a  time,  but 
even  these  wore  off,  and  before  long  she  fell 
into  a  sleep  which  not  even  the  snores  and 
wheezes  of  her  two  neighbors  could  disturb. 

She  did  not  awaken  until  near  midnight. 
The  coach  had  stopped  at  a  roadside  inn,  a 
wretched  place  on  the  edge  of  a  thick  woods. 
Peering  out,  and  observing  that  the  postilions 
were  changing  horses,  Nanc}^,  bent  upon 
stretching  her  cramped  legs,  climbed  softly 
over  the  monk,  who  was  still  gurgling  and 
snoring,  his  head  upon  his  breast,  as  if  each 
discordant  gasp  would  be  his  last. 

She  found  herself  in  a  small,  bare  stable- 
yard,  lighted  only  by  the  smoking  torches  of 
the  hostlers,  who  were  kicking  and  bullying  the 
fresh  horses  into  their  places. 

The  tired  moon  had  wrapped  herself  for 
the  night  in  a  coverlet  of  clouds  and  only  a  lone 


26  BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

star  shone  low  down  on  the  horizon.  The 
whole  world  seemed  soggy  and  clammy,  like  a 
moist  pudding  laid  away  in  a  damp  cloth. 

Seeing  that  the  stable-boys,  what  with  the 
darkness  and  the  restlessness  of  the  horses,  and 
the  cold,  which  made  all  their  fingers  thumbs, 
were  likely  to  be  some  time  about  their  task, 
Nancy  turned  to  the  inn  and,  observing  the 
gleam  of  a  candle  through  the  window,  went  in 
and  stood  before  the  fire  which  smoked  and 
smoldered  on  the  hearth  and  threatened  at  any 
minute  to  give  up  the  unequal  and  discouraging 
fight  against  wet  wood.  Looking  about,  she 
found  herself  in  a  low  room,  and,  when  her 
eyes  had  grown  used  to  the  shadows  which  en- 
gulfed it,  she  made  out  in  the  center  of  the 
floor  a  heavy  hewn  table,  on  which  were  the 
remains  of  a  repast,  which  a  frowsy  scullion- 
boy  was  clearing  away,  and  which  she  thought 
likely  had  been  served  to  three  rough,  un- 
kempt men,  mud-covered  from  beard  to  bro- 
gans,  who  had  drawn  their  bench  into  a  recess 
at  a  casement  window  opening  upon  the  stable- 
yard,  where  they  sat,  heads  together,  talking 
in  whispers. 


YELLOW  EYES  27 

There  was  no  particular  reason  why  Nancy 
should  have  supposed  that  they  were  talking 
about  her,  save  that  they  did,  truly  enough, 
steal  a  glance  at  her  from  time  to  time.  But 
the  conviction  that  they  were  discussing  her, 
and  very  earnestly,  too,  came  upon  her  with  a 
little  sense  of  apprehension,  of  what  she  knew 
not.  Only  she  was  glad  when  the  door  opened 
and  the  red-headed  Irish  lad,  whom  she  had 
seen  in  the  market-square  at  Lille,  came  into 
the  room,  and  beckoned  to  her  with  a  motion 
as  if  to  say  that  the  coach  was  ready  to  re- 
sume its  journey.  She  had  a  better  opportun- 
ity to  observe  him  then,  as  he  stood  beneath 
one  of  the  lights  thrust  into  a  hole  in  the  wall  by 
the  door,  a  clean-cut,  good-looking  lad,  despite 
his  ragged  clothes  and  freckles,  and  the  general 
air  of  indifference  to  fate  and  fortune  which 
sat  upon  him ;  nor  did  she  fail  to  note,  even  in 
that  brief  second,  as  she  started  for  the  door, 
that  he,  too,  had  suddenly  become  an  object  of 
the  scrutiny  of  the  three  men  in  the  corner  by 
the  casement. 

She  knew  that  the  country  they  were  in  was 
overrun  with  soldiers  of  fortune,  temporarily 


28  BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

out  of  employment  because  of  the  cessation  of 
the  wars  the  king  had  waged  in  the  Low  Coun- 
tries and  turned  adrift  to  shift  for  themselves, 
like  hungry  wolves  let  loose  in  a  sheepfold. 

One  of  the  men,  a  great  high-shouldered  fel- 
low, in  the  dress  of  a  soldier  of  Flanders, 
though  he  looked  more  the  Spaniard,  quit  his 
companions,  and,  leaving  the  room  by  a  small 
door  at  the  back,  which  opened  long  enough 
to  show  the  corner  of  a  smoke-grimed  kitchen 
beyond,  with  a  pot  steaming  on  the  grate,  came 
back  again  on  the  instant,  with  the  landlord 
at  his  heels.  The  landlord  nodded  at  some- 
thing the  fellow  said  to  him — all  this  in  a 
twinkling — and  when  Nancy  turned  to  join 
the  Irish  lad,  one  of  the  others  crossed  the 
room  at  a  bound  and  shut  her  off  from  the 
door.  And  then,  as  there  came  to  her  from 
the  frosty  court-yard  the  crack  of  the  postil- 
ion's whip  and  the  crunch  of  wheels,  and  she 
realized  that  the  coach  had  gone,  she  saw  him 
leap  toward  her,  with  a  billet  of  wrood  in  his 
hand,  saw  the  freckle-faced  boy  spring  at  his 
neck  from  behind  and  go  down  with  a  blow  on 
his  head,  saw  the  landlord  bar  the  door  and  pull 


YELLOW  EYES  29 

the  candles  from  the  wall,  saw  the  other  two 
men,  as  the  light  faded  out,  hurl  themselves 
upon  her,  and  then — nothing. 

How  long  a  time  had  passed  before  she  put 
forth  her  hand  in  the  darkness  she  did  not 
know.  But  she  did  know,  vaguely,  that  the 
effort  cost  her  pain,  and  she  seemed  to  float  off 
again  on  a  sea  of  unconsciousness.  Again, 
after  a  long,  long  while,  she  stretched  forth 
her  hand  and  this  time  she  clutched  something 
— a  handful  of  straw.  The  discovery  sur- 
prised her.  She  pondered  upon  it,  minutes — 
hours — weeks — time  meant  nothing.  She 
tried  again.  More  straw.  She  was  on  her 
back,  lying  upon  a  bed  of  straw  and  rushes. 
It  was  certainly  not  the  coach.  In  a  cart,  then, 
for  it  was  moving,  and  roughly,  too.  If  it 
were  not  for  the  pain  in  her  head,  she  thought, 
she  could  tell  whether  it  was  a  cart  or  not. 
Yes,  it  was  certainly  a  cart.  There  was  no 
room  in  the  coach  for  one  to  lie  upon  the  floor. 

Then  where  was  the  coach  ?  Where  was  the 
landlord  of  the  inn — and  where  were  the  three 
men  in  the  corner  by  the  casement — and  the 
red-haired  Irish  boy?  A  groan  at  her  side 


30  BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

answered  this  question.  He  was  there  beside 
her,  in  the  straw.  Moreover,  his  wrist  was 
tied  to  hers  with  a  knotted  rope.  This  discov- 
ery prompted  her  to  still  another:  their  feet 
were  lashed  together.  No  matter!  It  was 
only  the  pain  in  the  head  that  counted,  after 
all. 

As  for  the  Irish  lad,  he  no  doubt  was  dead. 
Had  she  not  seen  him  struck  down?  No,  he 
had  groaned.  Well,  he  had  groaned,  and  then 
died.  Yes,  she  had  seen  him  struck  down 
by  a  blow  on  his  head.  And  then  they  had 
come  upon  her,  in  a  rush  across  the  room,  and 
had  taken  her  off  her  guard.  Her  mission 
was  a  failure  at  the  start.  She  had  been  spied 
upon,  followed,  half  killed,  and  carted  away 
like  a  sack  of  meal.  And  back  in  Lille  two 
men  waited  anxiously  for  her  to  deliver  the 
tidings  they  were  sending  to  England.  Too 
bad!  Too  bad,  indeed,  for  they  had  put  such 
faith  in  her ! 

She  opened  her  mouth,  and  the  scream  that 
poured  forth  in  an  angry,  inarticulate  wail  of 
rage  brought  the  front  flap  of  the  cart  open 
with  a  jerk,  and  she  saw  framed  in  the  opening, 


YELLOW  EYES  31 

against  a  cold  gray  sky-line,  the  thick-lipped 
face  of  a  man,  with  toothless  gums,  and  a  pair 
of  yellow  eyes,  eyes  the  color  of  burnished  gold, 
that  looked  as  though  they  would  scorch  and 
burn  and  wither ;  eyes  that  blazed  up  and  then 
grew  dull,  that  flashed  again,  and  sparkled  like 
fire;  eyes  that  seared  her,  that  bored  into  the 
very  soul  of  her,  that  she  knew  she  would  never 
forget  again  as  long  as  she  might  live,  and 
that  she  never  did  forget.  Not  a  word  did 
he  speak.  Not  a  sound  came  from  between 
those  thick,  purpled  lips.  But  his  eyes  were 
eloquent.  She  looked  into  them,  and  obeyed 
their  silent  command. 

The  flap  of  thick  cloth  that  covered  the  cart 
dropped  back  into  place.  She  was  in  darkness, 
with  only  the  image  of  that  pasty  head,  hair- 
less, with  not  a  bristle  upon  it  from  nape  to 
chin,  bald  as  a  turnip,  and  colorless  but  for  the 
purple,  swollen  lips,  and  a  great  patch  of  red 
that  showed  when  the  lips  were  opened,  to 
haunt  her  memory.  And  so  she  dropped  off 
into  nothingness  again. 

When  next  Nancy  raised  herself  to  look 
about  her  it  was  broad  day.  The  man  with 


32  BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

the  yellow  eyes  was  leaning  into  the  cart,  hack- 
ing with  a  knife  at  the  ropes  that  bound  her 
to  her  comrade.  He  turned  those  two  twin 
coals  upon  her,  and,  answering  their  mute  ques- 
tion, as  to  whether  she  could  walk,  she  nodded 
her  head,  crawled  weakly  to  her  feet,  and  with 
his  assistance  gained  the  ground. 

She  was  weak,  and  grasped  the  wheel  of 
the  cart  to  steady  herself.  She  saw  by  the 
sun  that  it  must  be  on  toward  evening.  At 
her  side  a  tangled  thicket,  stunted  trees,  bent 
by  the  wind,  as  dark,  wild,  and  forbidding  a 
place  as  any  spot  she  had  ever  seen ;  in  front  of 
her  a  rocky  beach,  along  which  the  calm  sea 
lapped  and  gurgled.  Close  in,  a  small  boat, 
with  two  men  at  the  oars,  and,  in  the  distance, 
half  a  mile  ofT-shore,  a  brigantine,  on  which 
the  sails  were  breaking  out;  and  she  could  see 
the  seamen  in  her  shrouds,  and  hear  the  ropes 
slipping  in  the  falls. 

The  man  with  the  yellow  eyes  emerged  from 
the  cart  with  the  Irish  lad,  his  head  dangling 
between  his  shoulders,  the  face  covered  with 
clotted  blood.  He  put  the  boy  down,  picked 
her  up,  and  strode  down  to  the  beach,  where 


YELLOW  EYES  33 

he  waded  out  to  his  hips  in  the  water  and  threw 
her  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat. 

"Lie  still  and  hold  your  tongue,"  growled 
one  of  the  men  at  the  oars. 

Yellow  Eyes  scrambled  back  over  the  rocks, 
and  came  down  again  with  the  Irish  lad  over 
his  shoulders.  He  dropped  the  boy  into  the 
boat  beside  Nancy  and,  looking  meaningly  at 
the  seaman  at  the  bow  oars,  held  out  his  hand. 
The  sailor  shook  his  head  and  pointed  toward 
the  ship. 

Yellow  Eyes  nodded  at  this,  and,  shoving 
off  into  deep  water,  waded  out  to  his  middle 
and  swung  himself  into  the  stern  sheets.  The 
sailors  fell  to  their  oars. 

Presently,  Nancy,  on  her  back  in  the  bot- 
tom of  the  boat,  saw  the  shadow  of  the  ship 
fall  across  them.  She  was  jerked  to  her  feet 
and  thrust  up  the  ladder  in  the  waist,  followed 
by  the  two  sailors,  with  the  Irish  lad  between 
them,  and  Yellow  Eyes,  who  vanished  into  the 
big  cabin.  The  boat  was  swung  up  at  the  bits, 
the  yards  were  squared  away,  and,  the  sails  fill- 
ing, the  brigantine  dropped  down  the  bay  on  the 
ebbing  tide,  her  nose  turned  to  the  open  sea. 


34  BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

The  ship  had  scarce  got  a  bone  in  her  teeth 
in  the  freshening  breeze  when  there  was  a 
commotion  behind  her,  and  Nancy,  who  had 
sunk  down  in  the  scuppers,  turned  to  see  the 
man  with  the  yellow  eyes  throw  off  two  seamen 
who  were  clinging  to  him,  and  rush  to  the  rail 
with  a  look  on  his  face  so  full  of  astonishment 
that  it  would  have  been  ludicrous  but  for  the 
rage  and  hate  in  the  eyes  that  burned  like  blaz- 
ing fagots,  the  purple  lips,  now  almost  black 
and  twisted  with  passion,  and  the  empty  red 
gullet  which  the  girl  observed  now  plainly  for 
the  first  time,  with  a  shudder,  for  the  tongue 
had  been  cut  out. 

She  turned  her  head  to  shut  out  the  wretched 
sight,  and  her  glances  swept  the  roughening 
waters  of  the  little  cove  as  it  broadened  into 
the  channel  and  over  which  the  whitecaps 
danced  with  crests  that  rose  and  fell,  and  broke 
into  glistening  sprays  of  foam.  She  saw  the 
dimming  shore-line,  the  rocks  and  scrub  oaks, 
and  against  their  background  the  cart,  with  the 
shaggy  horse  standing  there  patiently,  waiting 
for  its  master  to  come  back. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE   SHIP   OF   BRIDES 

A  moan  at  her  side  made  Nancy  turn,  and 
then  she  sank  on  one  knee  to  the  deck  beside 
the  Irish  lad,  who,  lying  still  where  he  had 
been  thrown,  now  opened  his  eyes.  A  wave 
of  tenderness  swept  over  her. 

"Forgive  me,"  she  said,  and  gently  smoothed 
back  the  matted  hair,  disclosing  a  long,  jagged 
cut,  that  laid  open  the  scalp  to  the  skull.  No 
one  paid  the  slightest  attention  to  them  as  she 
looked  about  her  for  a  friendly  face. 

The  ship  was  in  the  utmost  confusion.  The 
waist,  as  far  as  the  forecastle,  was  a  litter  of 
bales,  and  chests  of  goods,  and  a  great  number 
of  casks  in  a  heap,  which  a  dozen  tatterdemal- 
ions, haggard  of  face,  and  wretched-looking 
beyond  belief,  were  passing  below  and  stow- 
ing away  in  the  hold  under  the  direction  of  the 
cape-merchant,  or  purser.  Abaft  the  main- 
mast, at  the  capstan,  stood  Yellow  Eyes,  head 

35 


36  BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

sunk  between  his  shoulders,  in  an  attitude  of 
utter  dejection.  The  deck  swarmed  with  men, 
and  women,  too;  some  in  rags,  others  in  finery 
that  looked  oddly  out  of  place  amid  such  sur- 
roundings. They  lounged  along  the  gunwales, 
gazing  off  toward  the  shore,  now  a  dim  line  of 
haze  astern,  or  else  sprawled  full  length,  or 
sat  where  they  could  find  a  place,  on  chest  or 
crate,  as  if  worn  out  and  exhausted. 

One  among  them  she  recognized  with  a 
start,  the  little  monk  who  had  been  her  travel- 
ing companion  in  the  Calais  coach.  He  was 
seated  on  a  box,  contentedly  gnawing  the  nub 
of  a  ham  bone,  and  sucking  out  the  marrow 
with  every  evidence  of  satisfaction.  At  the 
rail  near  her  a  young  French  girl  was  leaning 
dejectedly.  Nancy  beckoned  to  her. 

"Can  you  not  find  a  basin  of  water  and  a 
cloth  for  me?"  she  asked,  with  a  gesture  to- 
ward the  wounded  boy  on  the  deck. 

The  girl  shrugged  her  shoulders  as  if  in  re- 
fusal and  then,  thinking  the  better  of  it,  went 
off  without  a  word.  She  emerged  presently 
from  the  cook-room  in  the  forecastle  with  a 
bowl  of  steaming  water  and  a  bit  of  a  rag. 


THE  SHIP  OF  BRIDES  37 

Mistress  Chillingworth  took  them  eagerly, 
smiling  her  thanks,  and  began  bathing  the  head 
of  the  Irish  boy.  The  girl,  watching  these  pro- 
ceedings in  silence,  went  off  again,  and,  com- 
ing back  with  a  tankard  of  water,  raised  the 
boy's  head  in  the  hollow  of  her  arm  and  poured 
a  few  drops  down  his  throat. 

"He  will  come  around  all  right,"  she  said, 
looking  at  Nancy  curiously.  "Your  brother  ?" 

Nancy  shook  her  head. 

"A  friend,"  she  answered. 

"  'Tis  an  ugly  wound." 

"For  my  sake,  too!  A  brave  lad.  Come, 
rouse  up,  sir."  This  to  the  Irish  boy.  "Let 
us  get  you  once  upon  your  feet,  and  I  feel  sure 
you  will  be  better  speedily." 

Thus  encouraged,  the  boy  climbed  to  the  rail 
and  stood  there,  swaying  about.  The  two  girls 
held  him  up,  and,  the  salt  of  the  sea  getting 
into  his  head  braced  him  wonderfully.  Now 
they  observed  crew  and  passengers  gulping 
down  soup,  which  was  being  passed  out  to  them 
in  bowls,  and  eating  great  chunks  of  bread. 

Nancy,  joining  the  rush  to  the  cook-room, 
returned  with  food  which  all  three  fell  upon 


38  BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

greedily,  their  backs  to  the  bulwarks,  the  bowls 
of  soup  in  their  laps,  the  bread  serving  them 
for  spoons.  The  meal  put  strength  and  cour- 
age into  them. 

Even  the  French  girl  showed  in  her  eyes  that 
she  had  plucked  up  heart.  Of  an  unmistakable 
type,  she  was  pretty,  chic,  bedecked  in  cheap 
finery,  with  a  pale  face,  deep  circles  beneath 
her  eyes,  cheeks  rouged,  a  girl  who  had 
crowded  thirty  years  into  her  twenty  years  of 
life,  and  showed  every  one  of  them.  Nancy, 
with  that  quick  and  true  intuition  which  young 
girls  sometimes  feel,  knew  her  for  what  she 
was,  for  she  had  lived  too  long  in  Paris  not 
to  have  seen  many  like  her. 

"What  may  your  name  be,  my  friend?"  she 
asked. 

The  French  girl  shrugged  her  shoulders  and 
smiled  a  wan,  ghostly  smile.  Tears  stood  in 
her  eyes. 

"My  name  ?  What  matters  that.  They  call 
me  'Cherie.'  Let  that  do  for  you.  And  yours, 
monsieur  ?" 

Nancy  blushed. 

"My  name?     Oh,  Monsieur  Luronne." 


THE  SHIP  OF  BRIDES  39 

The  French  girl  looked  at  her  keenly,  as  if 
she  would  speak.  Then  she  shrugged  her 
shoulders. 

"And  yours,  monsieur?"  This  to  the  Irish 
lad.  "Since  fate  has  thrown  us  together  we 
may  as  well  be  friends." 

"Barney  McGiggen,  mademoiselle,  at  your 
service.  At  least,  I  will  'be  at  your  service 
when  I  can  rid  myself  of  this  pain  in  my  head. 
Faith !  What  a  blow  that  fellow  gave  me !  I 
am  stunned  by  it  yet." 

"What  blow?"  demanded  Cherie,  who 
looked  inquiringly  at  Nancy.  "I  saw  no  one 
strike  you.  How  came  you  by  this  frightful 
wound?  And  you,  Monsieur — Luronne. 
There  is  blood  upon  your  face,  and  in  your 
hair.  I  fear  you  need  assistance,  too." 

"  'Tis  nothing.  I  am  all  right  now.  We 
were  beaten  and  brought  on  board,  as  you  have 
seen.  What  ship  I  know  not." 

"The  Saint  Jean  Baptiste"  she  said.  "We 
sailed  from  Calais  under  charter  of  the  French 
West  India  Company  for  Tortuga,  with  a 
mixed  cargo,  and  fifty  women  to  be  the  wives 
of  the  colonists  there," 


40  BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

"Tortuga!"  cried  Nancy.  "The  name  is 
new  to  me.  I  know  not  where  that  city  is." 

"I  do  not  know  rightly  myself,  monsieur, 
only  that  it  is  in  the  Western  Indies,  and  it  is 
not  a  city  at  all  but  an  island,  as  near  as  I 
can  make  it  out." 

"The  Spanish  Indies!  Then  are  we  not 
bound  for  England?" 

"Ah,  no,  monsieur.  Were  you  for  Eng- 
land?" 

"Faith!  And  it'll  be  a  long  day  before  we 
see  England  again,  I'm  thinking,"  said  Barney, 
a  broad  grin  stretching  his  lips  almost  from 
ear  to  ear.  "I  saw  by  the  looks  of  her  she's  a 
ship  for  foreign  parts,  and  sure,  it  suits  me 
well  enough.  I'd  as  soon  go  to  the  New  World 
as  anywhere  else,  and  a  bit  sooner.  There's 
gold  there,  to  be  picked  up  in  the  streams. 
Faith,  monsieur,  we'll  all  be  rich." 

Nancy  had  sprung  to  her  feet,  and  tears 
which  she  could  not  keep  back  flooded  her  eyes, 
and  rolled  down  her  cheeks.  But  tears  had 
been  too  common  a  sight  upon  that  ship  that 
day  to  cause  any  comment.  Cherie  buried  her 
face  in  her  arm  upon  the  rail  and  wept,  and 


THE  SHIP  OF  BRIDES  41 

Barney's  blue  eyes  began  to  blink  rapidly.  He 
choked  back  any  pangs  of  homesickness  he 
might  have  felt  with  a  merry  whistle,  and 
slapped  Nancy  upon  the  shoulder. 

"Have  done  with  tears,  monsieur,"  he 
laughed.  "Save  them  for  another  time. 
Sure,  and  I  guess  we'll  need  them  soon  enough 
at  best." 

Nancy  dried  her  eyes.  She  did  not  care 
for  herself,  for  the  love  of  adventure  ran  warm 
and  red  in  her  veins.  But  the  picture  her  im- 
agination drew  of  the  two  men  in  a  shabby 
lodging  in  Lille,  waiting  for  her  to  come  back 
from  a  mission  from  which  she  would  not  re- 
turn, and  of  the  long  days  of  anxiety  and  grief 
her  father  would  feel  until  she  could  contrive 
to  get  to  him  some  word  of  her  plight,  was  more 
than  she  could  bear  with  unconcern. 

"  'Tis  a  long  journey  these  women  are  taking 
to  marry  their  men  in  the  New  World,"  she 
said  after  a  while.  "But  women  have  ever 
dared  all  dangers  for  the  sake  of  the  men  they 
love." 

Cherie  smiled,  but  a  smile  in  which  there  was 
no  mirth. 


42  BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

"Love  and  romance,  I  fear,  have  no  place 
in  the  hearts  of  such  as  we.  We  are  going 
out  to  marry  men  whom  we  have  never  seen. 
For  myself,  I  shall  take  the  first  who  offers. 
Yes,  the  first  man  who  speaks  me  when  I  land, 
him  will  I  have  for  husband." 

"I  do  not  understand."  Nancy's  eyes  were 
wide  now.  "I  thought  women,  and  men,  too, 
married  but  for  love.  I  would  wed  for  love, 
and  love  alone." 

"The  world  has  been  good  to  you,  monsieur, 
but  with  us — it.  is  not  so.  It  is  a  world  of  mis- 
ery and  sorrow,  of  wretchedness  and  unhappi- 
ness."  She  pointed  to  a  group  of  bedraggled 
women  leaning  listlessly  over  the  rail  at  the 
stern,  as  if  straining  their  tired  eyes  to  catch 
one  last  glimpse  of  the  land  they  were  leaving. 
"Human  beings,  though,  like  the  rest  of  us," 
she  added  significantly.  "God  have  mercy  on 
their  souls — and  on  mine.  Derelicts  all,  mon- 
sieur." 

"Who  are  they  ?"  asked  Barney. 

"Who  knows?"  answered  Cherie,  with  an- 
other shrug  of  her  shapely  shoulders.  "Pick- 


THE  SHIP  OF  BRIDES  43 

pockets,  thieves,  murderers — worse.  The 
scum  of  the  alleys  of  Paris.  Fine  ladies  of 
quality!  I  warrant  you  there  are  no  greater 
rogues  in  all  Europe,  nor  any  in  Christendom 
more  steeped  in  misery  and  despair." 

"And  so  they  are  going  out  to — what  is  the 
name  of  the  place?" 

"Tortuga,  in  the  Spanish  Indies.  I  know 
nothing  of  it  save  what  I  have  learned  from 
one  of  the  mariners  who  is  lately  from  that 
place.  A  small  island  off  the  coast  of  His- 
paniola,  or  Domingo,  as  some  call  it  now.  A 
rendezvous,  it  is,  for  all  the  riff-raff  of  those 
seas,  but  a  pleasant  enough  island,  and  very 
fertile,  so  that  the  French  West  India  Company 
has  a  mind  to  hold  it  permanently  for  France. 

"But  there  are  no  women  there,  this  sea- 
man tells  me,  and  Monsieur  the  Governor, 
thinking  to  make  his  fierce  sea-rovers  settle 
down  contentedly  as  colonists,  hit  upon  the  idea 
of  fetching  out  a  shipload  of  women  to  be  their 
wives.  Well,  I  am  one  of  the  sheep  bought  in 
the  market-place  and  now  being  delivered." 

"Do  none  go  willingly?" 


44  BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

"Ah!  out,  some  among  us  do — those  who 
would  save  their  necks,  or  their  carcasses  from 
rotting  in  the  hulks." 

"And  the  men  among  you?" 

"The  same — save  that  they  are  men.  They 
will  be  sold  when  we  reach  Tortuga.  Well,  I 
hope  to  get  an  honest  master — and  you,  too. 
If  I  don't — I  would  kill  the  man  who  put  the 
lash  to  my  back !" 

"Sold!"  cried  Nancy. 

"Oui,  the  women  for  wives,  the  men  for 
servants.  You  will  be  knocked  down  to  the 
highest  bidder,  for  six,  eight,  mayhap  twelve, 
years.  That  is  why  you  were  kidnaped.  But 
didn't  they  turn  the  tables  on  that  evil-visaged 
scoundrel  who  brought  you  aboard!  The 
whole  ship  is  laughing  at  the  way  they  served 
him." 

"Yellow  Eyes,  you  mean." 

"True,  his  eyes  are  yellow,  the  evilest  ever 
I  saw,  too.  It  makes  my  flesh  creep  to  see  him. 
And  what  a  rage  he  is  in.  He  came  aboard 
to  get  his  pay  for  kidnaping  you  two  boys,  and 
the  quota  of  indentured  servants  we  are  taking 
out  not  being  full,  Captain  Jean  calmly  car- 


THE  SHIP  OF  BRIDES  .45 

ries  him  off,  too.  '  Many's  the  poor  devil  he 
has  sent  to  die  in  the  plantations.  Now  he 
knows  what  it  is  to  be  paid  in  the  same  coin." 

The  ship  was  now  well  out  of  sight  of  land, 
and  night  coming  on.  They  made  their  way 
into  the  forecastle  to  choose  their  bunks,  and  a 
poor  choice  it  was,  seeing  that  nearly  all  the 
places  had  been  taken  by  those  more  prudent 
than  themselves.  A  stuffy,  stinking  hole  it 
was,  lighted  by  a  smoking  lamp  or  two,  overrun 
with  vermin,  crowded  and  packed  with  a  noisy, 
blasphemous  throng  of  men,  herded  together 
like  cattle.  Into  this  fetid  cavern  Nancy  and 
Barney  crept.  The  girl  found  an  empty  bunk 
too  small  and  undesirable  for  anybody  else  to 
have  claimed  it,  and  curling  up  in  it,  lay  down, 
and  soon  was  fast  asleep,  with  the  cursing  and 
laughing  crowd  of  derelicts  gambling  and 
drinking  all  about  her,  and  the  lapping  of  the 
sea  against  the  side  of  the  ship  in  her  ears. 

How  long  a  time  she  had  slept  she  did  not 
know.  A  low  whining  sound,  as  if  of  a  child  in 
pain,  aroused  her,  and  raising  herself  on  her 
elbow  and  looking  about  she  made  out  on  the 
cabin  floor  the  figure  of  a  man  lying  upon  his 


46  BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

back,  with  a  half-grown  mastiff  puppy  licking 
his  face. 

The  forecastle  was  shrouded  in  darkness. 
A  few  faint  flickers  yet  remained  in  one  of 
the  tallow  lamps.  The  merrymakers  who  had 
been  gathered  about  the  rough  table,  playing  at 
ombre,  or  lanterloo,  and  drinking  and  feast- 
ing, had  vanished.  The  whole  place  was 
choked  with  the  sound  as  of  many  men  hard 
asleep.  Their  snores  and  moans  and  throat- 
rattlings  floated  out  from  every  bunk,  and 
blended  in  a  chorus  in  which  each  man  seemed 
to  be  trying  to  outdo  his  neighbor.  The  one 
upon  the  floor  was  not  disturbed. 

Nancy  leaned  from  her  bunk,  the  better  to 
observe  him  and  the  dog  that  pawed  at  his 
breast,  whining  and  uttering  yelps  of  distress. 
As  she  did  so  she  saw  in  a  little  patch  of  light 
from  the  hatchway  the  shadowy  figure  of  a 
man.  She  drew  back  and  lay  still.  It  was 
Yellow  Eyes. 

He  crept  to  the  man  upon  the  floor  and 
turned  him  partly  over,  and  Nancy  saw  then 
what  she  had  not  observed  before,  the  shaft  of 
a  knife  in  the  fellow's  neck  under  the  ear. 


THE  SHIP  OF  BRIDES  47 

Yellow  Eyes  drew  it  out  and  wiped  the  blade 
upon  the  dead  man's  shirt.  Then,  kicking  the 
puppy  out  of  his  way,  he  lifted  the  corpse  upon 
his  back,  and,  with  a  quick  look  around  him, 
staggered  up  the  companionway  with  his  bur- 
den. 

Nancy  strained  her  ears  then  for  the  sound 
she  knew  would  follow,  but  she  could  not  be 
sure  that  she  heard  the  splash  as  the  body  went 
overboard,  as  she  knew  it  did  go,  as  well  as  if 
she  had  seen  it,  out  there  on  deck,  with  the  fog 
settled  down  all  around  the  ship,  enshrouding 
ijt  in  a  ghostly  mist.  She  lay  still,  scarcely  dar- 
ing to  breathe,  for  she  knew,  too,  what  Yellow 
Eyes  would  do  next.  And  presently  he  came 
back  with  something  in  his  hand  that  looked 
like  a  coat,  and  kicking  again  at  the  dog  that 
was  smelling  at  a  spot  upon  the  floor,  dropped 
to  his  knees  and  began  swabbing  at  the  great 
red  stain  that  Nancy  knew  was  there.  Then 
he  disappeared  up  the  hatchway  again,  leaving 
the  puppy  whimpering  in  the  middle  of  the 
forecastle  floor. 

He  was  back  again,  more  quickly  this  time, 
on  his  toes,  starting  at  every  creak  and  groan 


48  BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

of  the  straining  timbers,  listening  intently, 
turning  his  head  first  this  way  and  then  that. 
Once  Nancy  saw  his  yellow  eyes,  glowing  in 
the  darknesrs  like  coals,  full  upon  her.  She 
closed  her  own.  She  scarcely  breathed.  Her 
heart  stopped  beating  in  her  breast,  and  a  roar- 
ing filled  her  ears. 

But  he  passed  her  and  went  forward  softly, 
and -by  and  by  she  heard  his  heavy  body  settle 
down  in  a  bunk  some  distance  from  where  she 
lay. 

The  orchestra  of  slumbering  men  continued 
its  discordant  music,  and  presently  she  heard  a 
new  note  join  in  the  refrain,  and  knew  that 
Yellow  Eyes  had  gone  happily  to  sleep,  with 
the  dead  man's  wallet  in  his  shirt,  and  peace  in 
his  soul.  In  all  that  company  she  and  the 
puppy  alone  were  ill  at  ease.  The  dog's  whines 
filled  her  with  pity. 

Impulsively  she  slipped  down  past  the  sleep- 
ing men  in  the  bunks  beneath  her,  gathered  the 
puppy  in  her  arms,  and,  climbing  back  with 
him,  the  two  lay  down  together,  and  so,  at  last, 
dropped  off  to  sleep,  and  slept  till  morning. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THREE-LEGS 

Fair  winds  and  smooth  seas  marked  each 
succeeding  day  for  three  weeks.  Captain 
Jean,  the  grizzled  Breton  master  of  the  Saint 
Jean  Baptiste,  steered  their  course  for  the 
Canaries,  and,  after  stopping  there  for  two 
days  for  wood  and  water,  during  which  time  no 
shore  liberty  was  allowed,  and  a  strict  watch 
was  kept  night  and  day  on  all  the  wretched  pas- 
sengers, dropped  down  to  the  Cape  Verdes. 
Here  they  altered  their  course  to  the  westward, 
and  went  across  on  the  northeast  trades. 

By  this  time  Nancy  and  Barney  had  made 
themselves  favorites  with  the  passengers  and 
crew.  The  only  youngsters  on  board,  they 
were  soon  fetching  and  carrying  for  the  whole 
ship.  They  feasted  on  tidbits  from  the  mas- 
ter's cabin  and  stood  their  watches  with  the 
men  as  if  they  had  used  the  sea  all  their  lives. 

Naturally  of  a  cheerful  disposition,  the  girl 

49 


50  BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

accepted  the  new  state  of  her  fortunes  with 
Puritanical  stoicism.  She  had  satisfied  her- 
self that  she  had  been  kidnaped,  not  because 
her  father's  secret  had  been  discovered,  but 
because  she  was  worth,  delivered  on  board  ship, 
a  Spanish  pistole  to  Yellow  Eyes. 

Him  she  avoided,  keeping  out  of  his  way  at 
all  times,  as  well  for  her  own  sake  as  for  the 
dog's,  for  Yellow  Eyes  had  taken  a  violent  dis- 
like to  the  puppy,  as  if  it  reminded  him  of  a 
thing  he  would  forget.  She  often  felt  his 
molten  eyes  burning  into  her,  compelling  her  to 
look  at  him  by  some  strange  power  that  they 
held. 

She  would  turn  her  face  as  quickly  as  she 
could,  to  shut  out  the  sight  of  him,  with  his 
almost  fleshless  skull,  his  thick  purple  lips,  in 
which  all  the  blood  in  his  body  seemed  to  have 
settled,  and  his  toothless  gums  and  tongueless 
gullet  beyond. 

She  and  Barney  spent  most  of  their  time 
with  the  helmsman,  Pierre,  the  wrinkled-faced, 
who  had  been  twice  around  Africa  by  the  Por- 
tuguese route  to  India,  and  was  commonly  re- 
puted to  have  obtained  his  uncanny  skill  in 


THREE-LEGS  51 

reckoning  the  position  of  the  ship  by  sun  or 
stars  from  the  devil  himself,  with  whom  he  was 
generally  believed  to  be  on  terms  of  closest 
intimacy.  A  bushy  beard  encircled  his  face,  so 
that  he  seemed  to  be  peering  out  upon  a  world 
of  dangers  from  behind  a  friendly  ambuscade, 
a  surmise  confirmed  by  a  pair  of  singularly 
alert  and  sharp  little  eyes  which  snapped  and 
twinkled  incessantly. 

In  the  steerage  room  of  the  ship  before  the 
great  cabin,  he  stood  at  the  compass  and  kept 
a  record  upon  the  travas  of  the  number  of 
half-hour-glasses  they  steered  upon  every 
point.  From  him  they  learned  the  lore  of  the 
deep  sea,  of  storm  and  calm,  and  Nancy,  as  she 
had  done  in  her  childhood  on  the  docks  at  Ply- 
mouth, drank  in  the  tales  he  told  with  shining 
eyes  and  parted  lips. 

All  that  she  had  studied  in  Master  Tapps' 
and  the  books  *on  navigation  she  had  read  in 
her  young  girlhood  came  back  to  her  now,  and, 
Pierre  explaining  to  her  the  intricate  points, 
so  that  she  could  put  what  she  had  learned  into 
practise,  she  soon  became  a  fair  navigator  and 
could  observe  the  latitude  and  longitude,  and 


52  BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

"prick  the  card"  and  "say  the  compass"  with 
the  best. 

And  so,  what  with  winds  that  failed,  or  blew 
from  the  wrong  quarter,  the  weeks  slipped  by 
until  on  the  sixty-second  day  after  they  had 
quit  the  shores  of  France,  when  water-casks 
were  nearly  empty,  and  crew  and  passengers 
were  on  short  allowance  of  half  a  pound  of 
biscuits  and  a  gill  of  brandy  a  day,  they  sighted 
land.  This  proved  to  be  the  easternmost  cape 
of  Hispaniola.  So,  standing  off  to  avoid  a 
Spanish  ship  of  war  that  gave  chase,  they  bore 
away  to  the  northwest. 

"Hark  ye,  Barney,"  said  Nancy,  drawing 
the  Irish  lad  into  a  quiet  corner.  "I've  been 
working  out  a  scheme  and  want  your  advice 
upon  it.  Ever  since  we  left  France  I  have 
been  busy  with  plans  to  get  back,  but  ever  a 
difficulty  offered  to  my  designs.  Now,  I  have 
in  my  shoes  some  gold  pieces,  and  with  them, 
I  warrant  you,  we  shall  be  able  to  pay  our  pas- 
sage back  like  gentlemen.  What  think  you  of 
that  for  an  idea  ?" 

Barney's  million  freckles  blended  into  one 
before  his  whole  face  seemed  to  disappear 


THREE-LEGS  53 

o^er  the  horizon  of  his  distended  mouth,  which 
opened  in  a  grin  so  vast  he  was  like  to  lose  him- 
self in  it  entirely.  His  blue  eyes-blinked  furi- 
ously. Then  there  came  into  them  a  subtle 
craftiness. 

"Faith !  I  think  'tis  the  poorest  ever  I  heard 
of.  You  will  be  robbed  for  your  pains."  The 
smile  disappeared,  and  a  look  of  deep  concern 
spread  over  his  countenance. 

"Robbed!" 

"Aye,  that  you  will.  I  have  seen  more  of  the 
world  than  you  have,  monsieur.  There  are 
a  dozen  men  on  this  ship  who  would  split  your 
wizen  for  a  piece  of  silver,  let  alone  gold. 
Show  your  louis  d'or  to  these  beggars,  and 
your  money  will  not  be  all  that  you  will  lose. 
By  the  Saints!  It  makes  me  shiver  to  think 
of  it,  it  does." 

"But  Captain  Jean  is  an  honest  man.  He 
has  treated  us  kindly  on  the  voyage." 

"A  lot  of  men  are  honest  until  you  show 
them  gold." 

"  'Tis  true  enough,  Barney,  and  yet  would 
I  trust  to  Captain  Jean,  were  it — " 

She  turned  quickly,  as  the  sound  of  a  scuffle 


54  BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

came  to  her  ears,  in  time  to  see  Yellow  Eyes 
kick  savagely  at  the  mastiff.  The  man  had 
evidently  come  up  unawares  close  by  to  where 
they  stood,  but  what  he  had  heard  of  their  con- 
versation they  could  not  tell.  The  dog,  yelp- 
ing with  pain,  picked  himself  up  from  the  deck, 
and  rushed  upon  the  tongueless  man,  ears  back, 
white  fangs  gleaming  wickedly  in  his  half- 
grown  jaws.  Yellow  Eyes  raised  his  foot 
again,  and  Nancy,  picking  up  a  handspike,  dealt 
him  a  blow  in  the  face  that  made  him  measure 
his  length  on  the  deck.  He  was  on  his  feet 
in  an  instant,  with  a  deep  cut  in  his  forehead, 
and  his  yellow  eyes  full  of  blood,  and  with  a 
roar  of  rage  hurled  himself  upon  her.  He 
drew  his  knife  as  he  sprang,  a  wicked  blade 
which  was  no  new  sight  to  her. 

They  say  that,  as  a  person  drowns,  his  whole 
life  comes  back  in  retrospect  in  that  one  last 
crowded  instant.  Nancy  found  time  to  regret 
that  she  had  not  denounced  Yellow  Eyes  the 
first  day  out,  that  she  had  deemed  it  the  part 
of  prudence  to  keep  a  secret,  even  from  Barney, 
the  things  she  had  witnessed  in  the  forecastle. 
Because  the  man  who  had  been  missed  had  been 


THREE-LEGS  55 

deemed  a  worthless  jailbird  at  best,  who  doubt- 
less had  cast  himself  into  the  sea  in  a  fit  of 
despondency,  she  had  been  content  to  remain 
silent,  lest  she  could  not  prove  the  crime,  and 
so  would  suffer  herself  in  the  end.  And  now, 
for  her  forbearance,  she  was  to  feel  the  same 
knife  in  her  own  throat. 

She  grasped  the  handspike  with  a  firmer 
clutch,  and  met  the  blow  as  it  descended,  and 
parried  it.  Then  she  saw  the  lean  body  of  the 
mastiff,  a  dun  streak  across  her  eyes,  saw  him 
leap  for  the  corded  neck  of  Yellow  Eyes,  saw 
the  knife  flash  in  a  great  circle,  and  saw  the  dog 
met  in  mid-air  and  fall  backward,  its  right 
foreleg  cut  off  at  the  shoulder.  As  the  dog 
fell,  Barney,  the  Irish  lad,  leaped  at  Yellow 
Eyes.  The  freckles  on  his  face  were  gone 
now,  wiped  out  by  the  rush  of  blood  to  his 
skin,  which  was  scarlet,  as  all  the  fighting  in- 
stinct of  his  race  was  aroused.  He  hurled 
himself  between  Nancy  and  her  assailant,  but 
the  boy  was  no  match  for  the  powerful  arms 
and  shoulders  of  the  dumb  man,  who  sent  him 
reeling  back  into  the  gunwales,  where  he  fell 
a  crumpled  heap  in  the  scuppers,  and  then 


56  BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

raised  his  knife  and  sprang  at  the  girl  with  the 
fury  of  a  beast. 

A  great  crowd  came  rushing  to  where  they 
struggled,  shouting,  "A  fight!  A  fight!"  and 
got  about  them  in  a  ring  to  witness  the  sport. 

Nancy  grasped  her  handspike  with  a  firmer 
grip.  And  then  she  saw  something — the  girl 
Cherie.  A  Cavalier,  rather  down  at  the  heel, 
but  unmistakably  of  a  different  stamp  from  the 
vagabonds  and  rascals  who  comprised  the 
human  cargo  of  the  Baptiste,  came  running 
along  the  deck,  not  knowing  just  what  was  go- 
ing on  to  cause  so  much  excitement,  and  anx- 
ious to  see.  As  he  passed  Cherie  she  pulled  his 
sword  from  his  belt,  and,  squirming  through 
the  throng,  stooped  down,  and  sent  it  spinning 
along  the  deck  to  where  Nancy  stood. 

She  reached  for  it  quickly — all  this  in  the 
flash  of  an  eyelid — and  Yellow  Eyes,  although 
he  little  knew  it,  was  face  to  face  with  a  pupil 
of  one  of  the  best  swordsmen  in  Cromwell's 
army.  A  smile  came  over  Nancy's  face.  Her 
eyes  danced,  the  rich  warm  blood  of  her  suf- 
fused her  face  with  a  rosy  glow  of  zest  for  her 
father's  favorite  sport.  He  had  often  told  her 


THREE-LEGS  57 

that  he  had  taught  her  to  fence  as  well  as  his 
son  might  have  done  at  her  age.  The  recol- 
lection of  it  gave  her  confidence,  Yellow  Eyes 
hesitated,  and  in  that  moment  of  hesitation 
was  almost  lost.  For  she  had  the  blade  at  his 
throat  now,  and  the  cheers  of  the  crowd  in  her 
ears,  and  in  her  heart  a  recklessness  she  had 
never  known  before,  that  intoxicated  her. 

But  fate,  as  if  she  had  reserved  him  for  an- 
other end,  came  to  his  rescue  now.  Pierre  the 
navigator,  Pierre  the  faithful  friend,  hearing 
the  great  din  and  learning  what  it  was  all 
about,  for  the  first  time  left  the  helm  without 
a  hand  upon  it,  an  act  that  changed  the  whole 
current  of  Nancy  Chillingworth's  life  and  his 
own. 

As  he  came  plunging  down  the  slanting  deck, 
bellowing  like  a  wild  bull,  and  tossing  out  of 
his  way  those  who  impeded  his  progress,  a 
great  wave  striking  the  ship  on  her  quarter, 
she  fell  off  her  course,  and  the  sea  broke  over 
her  as  she  lay  in  the  trough  and  deluged  her 
with  a  flood  of  water  from  the  forecastle  aft 
to  the  binnacles,  the  shivering  sails  cracking 
like  thunder,  just  as  the  mastiff,  on  three  legs, 


58  BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

its  body  covered  with  blood,  leaped  again  for 
Yellow  Eyes.  The  wave  struck  them  full, 
and  man,  girl,  and  dog  went  down  in  a  heap 
together.  Nancy's  head  hit  the  gunwale,  so 
that  she  lay  quite  still  with  eyes  closed,  and  all 
thought  she  had  been  killed.  Barney  and 
Cherie  were  quickly  at  her  side  and  bending 
over  her: 

"Mon  Dieu!"  cried  out  Cherie.  "It  is  a 
woman !" 

The  great  crowd  was  suddenly  silent,  as  they 
picked  her  up  and  carried  her  into  the  cabin, 
Barney's  face  gone  white  as  chalk,  and  Pierre's 
eyes  blinking  and  snapping  at  a  faster  rate  than 
they  had  ever  blinked  and  snapped  before. 

As  for  Yellow  Eyes,  his  salt-water  bath  had 
taken  the  fight  out  of  him.  He  slunk  forward, 
his  yellow  eyes  like  molten  gold,  his  tongueless 
gullet  distended,  so  that  those  who  saw  him 
turned  their  heads  and  shuddered;  and  some 
of  them  fondled  the  dog  affectionately,  and 
bound  up  its  wounds. 


CHAPTER  V 

BRAS-DE-MORT 

Two  days  later  they  dropped  anchor  in  a 
little  cove  on  the  northern  side  of  Tortuga, 
their  voyage  at  an  end. 

The  night  had  been  one  of  wretchedness  and 
misery  for  Nancy,  who  had  recovered  con- 
sciousness to  find  herself  among  the  women  in 
the  cabin,  where  a  bunk  next  to  Cherie's  had 
been  found  for  her.  She  needed  no  one  to 
tell  her,  then,  that  the  secret  she  had  guarded 
had  been  discovered,  and  apprehensions  on  this 
score  filled  her  with  fear,  the  more  so,  since 
she  asked  in  vain  to  see  Barney. 

"Captain  Jean's  orders,"  was  all  the  explana- 
tion she  could  receive  from  Cherie,  who  fretted 
over  her  like  a  grandmother  with  a  new  baby. 
But  although  she  was  good  to  her,  and  nursed 
her  tenderly,  she  dared  not  disobey,  nor  did 
any  favorable  opportunity  ofTer  for  the  boy  to 
be  smuggled  in  to  her,  a  thing  that  she  was 

59 


60  BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

most  desirous  of,  in  order  that  she  might  ask 
his  advice,  having  always  found  him  wise  be- 
yond his  years. 

As  for  herself,  no  cajolery  nor  subterfuge 
could  induce  her  to  disclose  her  identity.  She 
kept  her  mouth  as  tight  as  wax. 

"Forgive  me,  my  dear,"  said  Cherie,  "for 
the  exclamation  which  destroyed  your  incog- 
nito^ but  it  sprang  impulsively  to  my  lips.  And 
now,  I  fear,  I  have  done  you  a  grave  harm — 
put  you  in  greater  danger  than  you  were  in 
before." 

"I  know  you  meant  me  no  injury,"  replied 
Nancy,  "for  you  have  given  me  assurances  of 
your  friendship  that  I  cannot  doubt.  But  for 
your  quick  wit  in  passing  me  the  sword  I 
should  now  be — overboard,  I  guess,  by  this 
time." 

She  shuddered,,  but  smiled  again. 

"I  dare  say,  though,"  she  added,  "that  my 
misfortunes  will  be  no  more  in  one  role  than 
in  another.  And  now  that  I  am  in  my  proper 
person  once  more,  I  shall  know  the  better  how 
to  act  for  my  protection.  Perhaps  as  a  woman 
I  shall  be  better  off  than  as  a  boy." 


BRAS-DE-MORT  61 

"That,"  answered  Cherie,  with  a  shrug  of 
her  shoulders,  "depends  a  good  deal,  I  should 
say,  upon  whether  you  prefer  to  work  for  a 
man  as  his  slave  or  his  wife.  The  wages,  I 
imagine,  are  the  same  in  either  case,"  she  fin- 
ished bitterly. 

Nancy  sat  bolt  upright  at  this. 

"Wife!" 

"Oui,  they'll  have  us  one  way  or  another, 
you  may  be  sure." 

The  girl  said  nothing  more  after  this,  but 
Captain  Jean  coming  into  the  cabin  presently, 
she  drew  him  aside. 

"May  I  not  have  your  consent  to  go  on  deck, 
monsieur?"  she  asked.  "Or  have  the  boy  Bar- 
ney come  here  to  me,  that  I  may  speak  with 
him,  my  friend,  upon  the  situation  in  which  I 
now  find  myself?" 

"The  consent  is  not  mine  to  give,  made- 
moiselle," he  answered.  "Monsieur  d'Ogeron 
has  come  aboard,  and  is  in  command.  He  has 
heard  your  story,  and  is  most  anxious  to  speak 
with  you.  It  is  to  fetch  you  to  him  that  I 
have  come/' 

"Who  is  Monsieur  d'Ogeron,  that  you,  the 


62  BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

captain,  should  take  orders  from  him?"  de- 
manded Nancy. 

"He  is  the  governor  and  major  of  the  island, 
mademoiselle,  and  since  he  is  supreme  here 
under  the  French  West  India  Company,  his 
word  is  final." 

"Then  I  fear  'twill  be  but  a  waste  of  time  to 
make  of  you  a  request  that  lies  even  nearer  yet 
to  my  heart,"  the  girl  answered.  "I  had  hoped 
you  might  grant  it  me." 

"Right  willingly  I  would  if  it  were  within 
my  power." 

"Is  it,  then,  not  within  your  power  to  carry 
me  back  to  France  with  you,  and  the  boy  Bar- 
ney, too?  We  came  not  willingly,  monsieur." 

"That  I  know  and  deeply  regret.  But  such 
is  the  system,  and  I  must  bring  as  safely  as  I 
may  the  cargo  that  they  deliver  to  me.  They 
would  not  permit  me  to  take  you  back.  I  fear 
another  future  awaits  you  here." 

"Could  you  not  smuggle  me  back  then,  if 
I  should  hide  on  board?  You  see,  monsieur, 
I  lay  bare  to  you  the  secret  I  have  nurtured, 
and  throw  myself  upon  your  honor." 

"I  will  not  betray  you." 


BRAS-DE-MORT  63 

"If  I  should  hide  myself  aboard,  would  you 
protect  me,  monsieur?" 

"I  could  not." 

"Why?" 

"I  carry  back  with  me,  mademoiselle,  thirty 
Englishmen,  as  prisoners,  evil  fellows  and 
trouble-makers,  who  have  refused  to  submit 
to  the  government  his  Majesty  has  established 
here  in  Tortuga.  They  have  sought  to  seize 
the  island  from  France." 

"Englishmen!"  cried  Nancy.  "Why,  mon- 
sieur, I,  too — " 

She  stopped.  Captain  Jean  looked  at  her 
narrowly. 

"Mademoiselle  is  English,  too,  hein!"  She 
raised  her  hand,  and  placed  her  finger  on  her 
lips.  "Sacre  bleu!  I  will  not  betray  you." 

^So  you  see,  Captain  Jean,  I  should  be 
among  friends." 

"In  irons,  yes,  mademoiselle,"  he  laughed. 

"In  irons!" 

"Mon  dieu!  Yes,  prisoners — irons.  What 
is  there  so  strange  about  that  combination? 
We  are  from  Tortuga  for  Toulon,  and  were 
you  among  the  English  prisoners  you  would  be 


64  BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

clapped  into  the  bagnio  with  them  and  sent 
thence  to  the  galleys.  You  would  do  better  in 
the  Indies,  mademoiselle." 

He  led  the  way  on  deck,  she  following  de- 
jectedly, and  so  she  saw  Tortuga,  its  wooded 
crest  and  palm-strewn  sands  bathed  in  a  flood 
of  tropical  sunlight  which  made  her,  coming 
thus  suddenly  into  the  light,  blink  with  a  speed 
that  would  have  done  credit  to  Pierre  himself. 

Captain  Jean  pointed  upward,  where  a  fort 
and  castle,  with  two  guns,  commanded  the  cove 
in  which  the  Baptiste  lay  at  anchor.  Perched 
upon  the  side  of  a  heavily  timbered  and  rocky 
mountain,  it  seemed  in  danger  of  slipping  off 
into  the  sea. 

"In  there,"  he  said  briefly,  giving  her  a 
knowing  wink. 

"The  Englishmen?" 

"Oui,  the  English  dogs!  Pardon,  made- 
moiselle, I  forget  myself.  The  English 
women,  they  are  beautiful,  charming.  The 
English  men — cutthroats !" 

And  so  they  passed  into  the  master's  cabin, 
or  roundhouse.  A  gentleman  arose  as  they 
entered,  and  came  toward  them,  and  Nancy, 


BRAS-DE-MORT  65 

feeling  his  eyes  upon  her,  lowered  her  own, 
and  for  the  first  time  upon  that  voyage, 
blushed. 

"She  is  here,  monsieur,"  announced  Cap- 
tain Jean  briefly,  and  then,  something  in  the 
girl's  drawn  face  and  tired  eyes  giving  him  a 
boldness  he  had  not  assumed  before,  he  added 
quickly,  "She  has  been  kidnaped,  and  comes 
not  of  her  own  will." 

"Kidnaped!"  D'Ogeron  scowled  and 
shrugged  his  shoulders.  Tis  what  they  all 
say."  He  turned  to  Nancy,  and  the  girl 
shrank  beneath  the  admiration  in  his  eyes. 
"You  came  as  a  servant,  mademoiselle,"  he 
said.  "You  will  remain  as  a  wife." 

"Truly,  I  came  not  at  all  of  my  own  wish,  but 
was  kidnaped,  as  Captain  Jean  has  informed 
you." 

"Tush!  Tis  the  story  they  all  tell.  Glad 
enough  for  a  chance  for  a  free  voyage  to  the 
Indies,  and  begging  off  when  once  they  land." 

"I  am  not  begging  off."  Her  eyes  flashed 
with  a  look  that  General  Sidney  might  have 
recognized  and  loved.  "I  am  an  English 
woman,  aye,  and  proud  of  it,  and  not  afraid 


66  BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

to  proclaim  it.  I  claim  my  rights  as  an  Eng- 
lish woman,  monsieur.  My  country  and  yours 
are  not  at  war." 

"Below  the  tropic,  they  are,  as  you  will  find, 
mademoiselle." 

"Even  so,  since  When  have  Frenchmen 
fought  women,  monsieur?" 

"You  have  me  there,"  the  governor  laughed. 
"Fight  them?  Mon  dieu!  Non!  non!  We 
love  them,  my  friend." 

"Monsieur  chooses  to  be  insulting." 

"Come,  my  pretty!  A  saucy  jade,  eh,  cap- 
tain?" The  honest  sailor's  face  darkened  at 
this,  and  he  pulled  his  beard  a  savage  jerk  that 
was  like  to  tear  it  from  his  chin.  "And  of 
the  quality,  too,  or  I  am  no  judge  of  a  woman's 
fine  points.  What  is  your  name,  made- 
moiselle?" 

Nancy  looked  at  Captain  Jean,  but  finding 
his  eyes  averted  from  hers,  and  seeing  by  his 
attitude  that  he  had  done  for  her  all  that  he 
could,  she  realized  that  she  must  look  now  to 
herself  alone  for  protection. 

"I  cannot  tell  you  that,"  she  answered,  "al- 


BRAS-DE-MORT  67 

though  I  can  assure  you  it  is  one  not  unknown 
in  France  as  in  England." 

D'Ogeron,  a  handsome  man  a  little  under 
middle  age,  in  Rhinegrave  breeches  seamed  all 
over  with  scarlet  and  silver  lace,  sleeves 
whipped  with  ribbons  and  cannons  of  the  same 
fluttering  material  at  his  knees,  caressed  his 
mustache  at  this.  Then,  stepping  up  to  her, 
he  sought  to  take  her  by  the  hand.  She  drew 
back  quickly,  her  face  flushing  a  crimson  color, 
her  blue  eyes  flashing.  He  laughed,  a  good- 
natured  laugh,  and  tried  to  slip  his  arm  about 
her  waist,  whereat  she  sprang  across  the  cabin, 
and  placed  the  table  between  herself  and  him, 
and  so  stood  there,  glaring,  her  nose  quivering 
with  resentment,  until,  as  he  sought  to  follow, 
she  found  the  way  clear  to  the  companionway, 
and  springing  up,  gained  the  deck,  leaving  Cap- 
tain Jean  with  a  grin  on  his  face,  and  d'Ogeron 
wearing  a  flabby  smile. 

The  nondescript  crowd  of  passengers  were 
crowded  into  the  waist,  lining  the  rail.  They 
gazed  with  eager  eyes  upon  the  island,  and 
watched  the  crowd  of  ragged  and  tattered  men 


68  BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

who  had  flocked  down  to  the  beach,  where  they 
stood  about  in  groups,  repaying  all  their  curi- 
ous glances  with  interest.  ^ 

Nancy,  singling  out  Barney  and  Cherie,  who 
stood  together  at  the  beak-head  ladder  in  the 
bow,  wormed  her  way  through  the  mob  and 
joined  them,  and  was  received  with  expressions 
of  liveliest  interest  and  delight.  The  first  boat 
having  been  lowered,  and  having  no  possessions 
to  impede  them,  they  scrambled  down,  among 
the  first  to  leave,  and  soon  were  pulling  off  for 
the  shore,  with  Cherie  perched  in  the  bow. 

As  they  came  into  shoal  water,  a  man  who 
stood  apart  from  the  others  on  the  beach  waded 
out,  and,  seizing  the  boat,  hauled  her  up.  He 
offered  his  hand  to  the.  girl  crouching  on  the 
bow  like  some  carved  figurehead,  and  Cherie, 
placing  her  own  within  it,  was  deftly  swung 
ashore.  Nancy  and  Barney  following  her, 
they  looked  about  them  upon  as  strange  a  crew 
of  poor  devils  as  might  have  been  found  in  all 
the  world. 

Nearly  all  of  the  islanders  were  Frenchmen, 
with  here  and  there  a  Portuguese,  or  a  rene- 
gade Spaniard  who  had  fled  to  the  French 


BRAS-DE-MORT  69 

colony  to  escape  the  penalty  of  his  crimes 
among  people  of  his  own  kind.  Dirty,  un- 
washed, unkempt,  with  matted  hair  falling  to 
their  shoulders,  over  faces  baked  red  by  the 
sun  of  the  tropics,  they  were  clad  for  the  most 
part  in  short  canvas  or  cotton  breeches,  ragged 
and  torn,  frayed  at  the  knees,  with  coarse  cot- 
ton shirts  hanging  over  them.  Filth,  smoke, 
bloodstains,  and  grease  had  dyed  them  to  the 
color  of  a  rotten  sail.  Their  hats,  fashioned 
from  the  skins  of  goats  or  wild  animals,  were 
brimless,  little  more  than  rude  caps.  Many 
of  them  boasted  no  other  covering  than  the 
thatch  with  which  nature  had  endowed  them. 
Around  their  waists  were  belts  of  untanned 
hides,  ornamented  with  so  many  knives  and 
pistols  that  one  would  have  thought  that 
slaughter  was  their  sole  occupation ;  nor  would 
one  have  been  mistaken,  for  it  was.  From 
their  shoulders  hung  leathern  pouches  filled 
with  powder  and  shot,  and  nearly  every  one 
carried  a  musket.  Those  who  were  not  bare- 
footed as  well  as  hatless  wore  rough  brogans 
which  had  been  fashioned  by  their  own  un- 
skilful hands,  from  the  skin  of  the  wild  pig. 


70  BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

A  roaring  tide  of  shouts  and  exclamations 
ebbed  and  flowed  through  them  as,  gesticulat- 
ing and  grimacing,  they  rushed  out  to  meet  the 
small  boats  from  the  ship  which  had  begun  to 
discharge  their  loads  of  human  freight,  in- 
quiring as  to  the  news  from  Europe,  to  learn, 
perchance,  by  vague  and  adroit  questioning, 
so  as  not  to  disclose  their  own  identities,  if  any 
among  the  new  arrivals  came  from  parts 
whence  they  themselves  hailed,  and  knew  aught 
of  friends  or  relatives. 

With  the  landing  of  every  fresh  boat,  as  the 
newcomers  mingled  with  those  on  shore,  the 
din  and  confusion  increased.  Many  of  the 
men  had  been  in  the  Indies  for  ten  or  twenty 
years,  and  the  women  were  like  creatures  from 
some  other  world.  They  stood  around  on 
shuffling  feet  and  with  gaping  mouths,  only  the 
more  daring  among  them  offering  to  address 
these  strange  beings  who  had  come  among 
them  to  be  their  wives  and  share  their  wretch- 
edness. 

He  who  had  assisted  Cherie  to  land,  a  young 
fellow  of  thirty  in  the  threadbare  dress  of  a 
gentleman,  escorted  her  gallantly  into  the  shade 


BRAS-DE-MORT  71 

of  a  palm,  which  grew  close  to  the  water's 
edge,  but  at  some  distance  from  the  point  where 
the  boats  were  landing. 

"Mademoiselle,"  said  he,  taking  off  his  hat 
and  making  her  a  sweeping  bow,  "it  honors  me 
to  offer  you  the  protection  of  my  hand,  and  my 
heart  also,"  he  added,  with  mock  courtesy,  and 
yet  with  a  note  of  manliness  in  his  voice  which 
the  girl,  giving  him  a  quick  glance  from  her 
dark  eyes,  was  not  slow  to  recognize. 

"Monsieur  is  an  impetuous  lover,"  she 
smiled,  sarcasm,  raillery,  and  pathos  blended 
in  her  low  tones.  "He  wears  his  heart  upon 
his  sleeve." 

"You  misjudge  me,  mademoiselle.  No  sud- 
den fancy  drives  me  thus  to  a  declaration  of 
tenderness  toward  you.  Long  since,  when 
first  I  learned  of  this  project  of  the  Governor's, 
I  made  up  my  mind  to  wed  the  first  woman  who 
stepped  ashore,  would  she  but  have  me.  I, 
you  see,  am  a  fatalist.  You  were  the  first — 
and  quite  well  satisfied  I  am,  mademoiselle, 
with  the  kindness  of  fate." 

"Mercil  You  turn  a  compliment  prettily. 
You  offer  me  your  heart  and  hand.  I  accept 


72  BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

them,"  and  Cherie  held  out  her  hand  to  him, 
and  grew  suddenly  shy  when  he  took  it  and 
pressed  it  to  his  lips. 

''You  flatter  me,  and  raise  me  in  my  own 
estimation.  I  -cannot  be  so  low  a  creature  as 
I  have  sometimes  thought  myself  to  be,  since 
you—" 

"Monsieur  flatters  himself,"  she  interrupted, 
laughing. 

"Ah!" 

"I,  too,  am  a  fatalist." 

"I  do  not  comprehend." 

"I  made  an  oath,  when  I  turned  my  back 
upon  all  that  lies  behind  me,  that  I  would  take 
for  lord  and  master  the  first  man  who  offered 
me  that  honor,  were  he  the  devil  himself." 

"You  are  frank,  mademoiselle." 

"As  you  were." 

"Quite  true.  We  are  well  met.  It  is  a 
bargain,  then." 

"I  am  ready  when  the  priest  is." 

"I  have  no  name  to  offer  you,  mademoiselle." 

"I  understand.  Nor  I  one  to  surrender.  I 
did  that  long,  long  ago,  when  all  the  world 
was  young.  Thou  art  getting  no  vestal,  mon- 


BRAS-DE-MORT  73 

sieur,"  she  added  faintly,  turning  her  face,  her 
eyes  upon  the  ground,  while  the  blood  mounted 
to  her  cheeks. 

"Thou  can  blush  still,  mademoiselle,  and 
so  thou  art  not  bad.  I  take  thee  without 
knowing,  or  caring  to  know,  who  thou  art. 
If  anybody  from  whence  thou  earnest  would 
have  thee,  thou  wouldst  not  have  come  in 
quest  of  me.  I  do  not  desire  thee  to  give  me 
an  account  of  thy  past  conduct,  because  I  have 
no  right  to  be  offended  at  it  at  the  time  when 
thou  wast  at  liberty  to  behave  either  well  or 
ill,  according  to  thy  own  pleasure.  Give  me 
only  thy  word  for  the  future;  I  acquit  thee  of 
the  past." 

He  raised  from  his  shoulder  the  musket 
which  he  carried. 

"This,"  he  added,  "will  revenge  me  of  thy 
breach  of  faith.  If  thou  shouldst  prove  false, 
this  will  surely  be  true  to  my  aim." 

She  bent  her  head  in  assent. 

"And  thou?" 

"I  will  cherish  thee  and  love  thee  and  be 
kind  to  thee  until  the  end,"  he  replied  with 
increasing  intensity,  so  that  she  looked  at  him, 


74  BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

full  into  the  eyes,  then  turned  her  head  aside. 

When  next  he  looked  at  her,  her  eyes  were 
wet.  He  smiled  at  her  and  took  her  by  the 
arm,  as  Nancy  and  Barney,  who  had  been 
searching  for  them  in  the  crowds,  came  up  to 
where  they  stood.  Cherie  motioned  to  her 
companion. 

"We  are  to  be  married,"  she  said  simply, 
throwing  her  arms  around  Nancy's  neck  and 
weeping.  "Ah,  mademoiselle!" 

"Mademoiselle!"  exclaimed  the  man,  look- 
ing at  -Nancy  more  closely.  "Mon  dieu!  Par- 
don, mademoiselle.  I  mistook  you  for  a  petit 
garfon.  I  assure  you  your  disguise  is  perfect. 
Perfect!  And — "  with  a  significant  glance  at 
the  rough  crew  frolicking  on  the  beach — "if 
you  will  accept  my  advice,  it  is  that  you  pre- 
serve your  incognito." 

"The  advice  is  excellent,"  answered  Nancy, 
"but  unhappily  it  comes  too  late." 

"Ah!" 

"The  discovery  was  made  on  shipboard." 

"And  through  me,  too,"  said  Cherie,  with  a 
gesture  of  despair. 

"Nay,  my  friend,  do  not  blame  thyself  for 


BRAS-DE-MORT  75 

what  must  certainly  have  been  disclosed  in  no 
great  time,"  said  Nancy.  "I  could  not  much 
longer  have  pretended  to  be  aught  save  that 
which  I  truly  am,  a  very  forlorn  and  unhappy 
girl." 

"Sacre!"  •  cried  the  Frenchman.  "It  is  too 
bad.  I  greatly  fear  that  before  nightfall  you 
will  find  yourself  wed  to  one  of  these  greasy 
cattle-hunters  and  buccaneers — and  then,  may 
God  have  mercy  on  your  soul !" 

Nancy  looked  afar  off  to  where  the  ragged 
crest  of  the  wooded  mountain  cut  the  azure  of 
the  tropic  sky. 

"No,"  she  answered  softly,  "not  while  that 
cliff  is  yonder." 

"Don't  say  that,"  interrupted  Barney. 
"Why,  it's  wicked.  And  besides,  we're  all 
here  to  look  out  for  you  and  save  you  from 
harm." 

"Thank  you,  Barney.  I  know  I  can  de- 
pend upon  you — but,  after  all,  what  can  any- 
one do?" 

"Oh!  There'll  be  a  way  out  of  this.  But 
I  don't  blame  you  for  being  down  at  the 
mouth.  Why,  if  they  tried  to  make  me  marry 


76  BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

one  of  these  men,  I'd — I'd — I  don't  know  what 
I'd  do.  I'd  kill  him!" 

Nancy  threw  back  her  head  and  laughed  a 
merry,  ringing  laugh. 

"Ah,  Barney  boy,"  she  said,  "with  you  for 
my  defender  I  should  not  fear." 

"Mademoiselle  leaves  me  out!"  cried  the 
Frenchman  in  an  injured  tone,  thumping  him- 
self grandly  upon  the  chest.  "While  Bras- 
de-Mort  has  a  bullet  for  his  musket,  it  is  at  her 
service." 

"Hein!  So  I  am  to  be  Madame  Bras-de- 
Mort,  yes  ?"  cried  Cherie.  "I  thought  you  had 
no  name,  monsieur  ?  I  assure  you  'tis  a  good 
one,  and  satisfies  me  to  my  great  content.  But 
if  you  had  seen  how  well  our  friend  defends 
herself,  maybe  you  would  not  think  it  neces- 
sary to  offer  her  your  deadly  arm.  She  will 
marry  no  common  cattle-hunter.  No  doubt 
the  governor  has  reserved  her  for  his  bride." 

"Then  do  I  pity  her  indeed,"  said  the  one 
who  had  called  himself  "Bras-de-Mort,"  his 
face  very  serious.  "The  governor  has  had 
three  wives,  in  the  short  time  I  have  been  here. 


BRAS-DE-MORT  77 

Sacre!  He  lays  a  wife  aside  as  though  it 
were  his  coat." 

"Still,"  said  Nancy,  when  they  had  stood  in 
silence  listening  to  the  soft  murmur  of  the  sea, 
and  the  rustling  of  the  palm  leaves  in  the  wind, 
"I  do  fear  the  governor,  for  all  his  power  here, 
less  than  I  do  fear  the  dumb  man." 

She  pointed  down  the  beach  where  Yellow 
Eyes  was  plowing  through  the  sand  towards 
them. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE    CASTLE   ON    THE    HILL 

To  escape  the  baneful  eyes  of  the  tongueless 
man,  and  the  hideous  sight  of  his  fleshless 
skull  and  bloodshot  lips,  Mistress  Nancy  made 
a  wide  detour  through  the  palm-trees,  followed 
by  Barney.  She  knew  not  whither  she  was 
going;  her  sole  desire  was  to  be  alone,  to  collect 
her  thoughts  and  have  an  opportunity  to  dis- 
cuss in  peace  and  quiet  with  the  Irish  boy  plans 
for  their  escape,  for  that  she  would  die  rather 
than  submit  to  the  fate  that  awaited  her  here 
in  Tortuga  she  was  firmly  resolved. 

The  blood  that  had  been  resolute  enough  to 
send  an  English  king  to  the  scaffold  flowed  in 
the  girl's  veins.  She  felt  a  strengthening  of 
all  the  fibers  of  her  being  under  the  pressure 
of  her  troubles,  which,  instead  of  making  her 
weary,  clarified  her  mind  and  gave  her  un- 
wonted energy,  first,  to  see  in  what  sort  of 

78 


THE  CASTLE  ON  THE  HILL      79 

place  she  was,  and  to  determine  then  what 
avenues  of  escape  offered. 

She  was  hungry,  and  Three-legs,  the  mastiff 
dog,  which  trotted  at  her  side,  looked  up  into 
her  face  with  eloquent  eyes  which  proclaimed 
in  unmistakable  language  just  what  he  would 
have  thought  of  a  bone.  As  for  Barney,  he 
had  been  half-starved  so  often  that  his  stomach 
gave  him  little  trouble,  seeing  that  it  expected 
nothing  much  of  anything  and  was  always  as 
grateful  as  astonished  at  any  tidbit  which  came 
its  way.  Still,  they  had  eaten  no  food  since  the 
night  before,  when  they  had  dined  on  a  couple 
of  biscuit  and  a  little  brandy  and  water  in  the 
bottom  of  their  tankard.  So  they  turned  their 
attention  to  the  beach  where  there  was  every 
evidence  of  culinary  activity,  and  whence  was 
wafted  to  them  a  delicious  odor. 

A  great  fire  had  been  lighted  in  the  open 
space  between  the  sea  and  the  cluster  of  shacks 
and  huts  which  served  the  colonists  for  a  town, 
a  short  distance  from  the  water's  edge.  Over 
it  a  whole  ox  was  roasting  on  an  enormous  spit, 
sending  forth  an  aroma  that,  as  they  drew  near, 
became  maddening.  The  blaze  was  sur- 


8o  BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

rounded  by  a  noisy  throng,  those  who  had 
landed  that  day  from  the  Baptiste  mingling 
with  their  new-found  friends  and  fellow-coun- 
trymen, who  paid  clumsy  court  to  the  women  or 
fought  among  themselves  for  the  favors  of  the 
more  attractive  ones,  who,  finding  themselves 
eagerly  sought  after  among  so  many  men,  were 
not  slow  to  exercise  those  arts  of  coquetry 
best  calculated  to  win  for  themselves  the  pick 
of  the  prospective  husbands. 

Scarcely  a  damsel  but  was  surrounded  by 
a  dozen  rough  gallants,  who  proffered  them 
the  choicest  cuts  from  the  barbecue,  offered 
them  cups  of  wine  from  the  casks  which  had 
been  broached  under  the  palm-trees,  shower- 
ing them  at  the  same  time  with  uncouth  compli- 
ments and  speeches  that  were  as  pretty  as  they, 
who  had  been  so  long  outside  the  pale  of  civi- 
lization, knew,  or  remembered,  how  to  make. 
A  squalid  lot  of  wretches  they  were,  too,  the 
scrapings  of  the  slums  and  alleys  of  Europe, 
vagabonds  and  rascals,  indentured  servants  es- 
caped from  their  masters  in  Jamaica  when 
Cromwell  had  added  that  island  to  England's 
overseas  possessions ;  runaway  slaves,  who  had 


THE  CASTLE  ON  THE  HILL      81 

been  sold  for  debt  at  Port  Royal ;  outcasts  from 
the  settlements  in  Virginia  and  New  England; 
idlers,  ne'er-do-wells,  thieves,  pickpockets, 
murderers,  escaped  felons,  jailbirds  from  the 
hulks  in  the  Mediterranean  or  from  Newgate, 
the  very  scum  of  society.  They  had  drifted 
to  the  Caribbean  as  froth  collects  at  the  center 
of  a  boiling  pot.  Some  among  them  were  sol- 
diers, veterans  of  the  wars  which  had  con- 
vulsed Europe  for  a  generation,  whose  cam- 
paigns had  taught  them  only  lessons  of  idle- 
ness and  violence. 

Finding  Hispaniola,  Spain's  first  great 
possession  in  the  New  World,  all  but  deserted 
by  the  gold-mad  adventurers  who  had  pushed 
on  to  the  Main  in  quest  of  vaster  wealth,  de- 
serted but  for  a  few  settlements  on  the  coast, 
the  native  population  exterminated,  and  their 
places  in  the  mines  and  on  the  plantations  filled 
by  negro  slaves  from  the  Guinea  coast,  and  the 
whole  island  over-run  by  wild  cattle  and  hogs, 
the  progeny  of  domestic  animals  which  had 
been  brought  over  by  those  who  had  followed 
Columbus,  these  outcast  derelicts  had  turned 
hunters  of  the  wild  bulls  which  they  slew  for 


82  BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

their  meat  and  hides.  Going  off  into  the  deep 
forests,  two  together,  usually,  for  they  hunted 
in  couples,  with  their  muskets  and  ammunition, 
and  a  pack  of  dogs  to  aid  them  in  the  chase, 
they  would  kill  as  many  animals  as  sufficed  for 
their  needs,  curing  the  meat  after  a  fashion 
which  had  been  learned  from  the  Caribbee  In- 
dians. The  beef,  cut  into  long  strips,  was 
smoked  or  barbecued  over  a  boucan,  a  grating 
of  green  sticks,  so  that  the  hunters  became 
known  as  boucaniers,  or,  as  the  word  was 
twisted  by  English  tongues,  buccaneers. 

Nancy,  joining  the  mob  around  the  fire, 
thought  she  had  never  seen  before  such  evil- 
looking  fellows.  Soon  she  and  Barney,  wedg- 
ing in  among  them,  secured  a  chunk  of  smoking 
meat  for  themselves,  and  a  juicy  joint  for 
Three-legs,  and  withdrawing  to  the  shade  of  a 
near-by  palm,  with  a  basin  of  water  to  wash 
down  their  meal,  munched  away  with  the  great- 
est contentment. 

In  this  pleasant  frame  of  mind  Mistress 
Chillingworth,  happening  to  look  up,  saw  ap- 
proaching her  the  man  she  least  wished  to  see, 
Monsieur  d'Ogeron,  the  governor  himself, 


THE  CASTLE  ON  THE  HILL      83 

grandly  attired  for  the  festivities,  and  smiling 
with  satisfaction  at  the  huge  success  of  his 
undertaking  now  so  happily  consummated  in 
the  arrival  of  the  cargo  of  brides  from  France. 

"Hist!"  whispered  Barney,  nudging  her. 
"Here  comes  the  major  of  the  island.  They 
pointed  him  out  to  me  a  while  ago.  If  you 
could  get  on  the  right  side  of  him  now,  he 
could  soon  settle  the  question  of  going  back 
to  France." 

"No,  Barney,  he  will  not  help  me,"  she  an- 
swered. "He  means  me  no  good,  I  fear.  My 
heart  tells  me  to  expect  of  him  nought  but 
ill.  I  have  already  craved  of  him  the  privilege 
of  returning  on  the  Baptiste,  and  it  has  been 
refused  me." 

D'Ogeron  was  now  arrived  at  where  they 
sat.  Barney  jumped  to  his  feet,  pulling  his 
forelock  and  bowing.  Nancy  sat  still  and 
turned  her  face  away. 

"I  am  come  to  offer  you  the  hospitality  of 
the  island,  mademoiselle,"  began  the  governor. 
"Tortuga  bids  you  welcome,  and  hopes  that 
you  will  long  abide  with  us  here." 

"You  are  kind,  monsieur,"  she  replied  with 


84 

a  touch  of  bitterness  in  her  voice,  "but  I  fear 
I  can  never  be  happy  in  this  place,  torn,  as  I 
have  been,  from  home  and  kin.  I  beseech  you 
to  permit  me  to  return  on  the  ship." 

D'Ogeron  shook  his  head  and  cast  at  her  a 
look  which  made  her  blood  turn  hot  with  rage 
within  her. 

She  arose  abruptly,  and,  when  the  Gov- 
ernor offered  her  his  arm,  she  ran  away,  like 
an  angry  schoolgirl.  Barney,  with  his  fists 
doubled  up  and  his  brows  scowling,  and  Three- 
legs,  showing  his  white  teeth  over  his  curling 
lip,  followed  her,  as  if  to  serve  notice  that 
Mistress  Nancy  had  two  friends  upon  whom  to 
count  in  an  emergency. 

She  did  not  see  d'Ogeron,  stamping  his  foot 
with  vexation,  call  up  from  the  crowd  a  slouch- 
ing fellow,  and,  pointing  out  to  him  the  figure 
of  the  girl,  say  something  in  a  low  tone,  which 
the  man  agreed  to,  as  the  shakes  of  his  head  in- 
dicated. Nor  did  she  observe  that  this  fellow, 
following  her,  kept  her  within  his  sight  there- 
after. But  if  she  had  noted  these  things,  it  is 
doubtful  if  they  would  have  made  her  feel  less 
quiet  than  she  was. 


THE  CASTLE  ON  THE  HILL      85 

Boy,  girl  and  dog,  were  swallowed  up  in  the 
crowd  which  grew  more  noisy  with  every  fresh 
cask  that,  rolled  up  from  the  rough  storehouses 
lining  the  shores  of  the  cove,  was  stove  in  with 
shouts  of  glee  and  bursts  of  song.  Singing, 
playing,  scuffling,  stuffing  themselves  with  the 
good  things  from  the  feast  which  had  been 
provided  for  the  occasion,  and  washing  out 
their  dusty  throats  with  great  gulps  of  wine, 
they  raised  their  voices  to  a  chorus  that  might 
have  been  heard  at  the  other  end  of  the  island. 
The  sailors  from  the  ship  had  come  among 
them  and  added  their  merrymaking  to  the  gen- 
eral din. 

Some  of  the  women  had  already  married 
the  men  who  had  chosen  them,  or  fought  for 
them.  As  Nancy  approached  one  group, 
which  seemed  more  quiet  than  the  rest,  she 
saw  that  the  interest  was  centered  in  Cherie 
and  Bras-de-Mort  who  were  standing  hand  in 
hand  beneath  a  palm,  while  the  padre,  the  lit- 
tle French  monk  she  had  first  seen  in  Lille, 
half  tipsy,  his  round  red  face  shining  like  a 
tropic  moon,  was  reciting  the  marriage  serv- 
ice, stumbling  over  the  words  by  reason  of  hav- 


86  BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

ing  one  eye  on  a  cask  that  was  being  tapped 
by  a  couple  of  frolicking  mariners.  A  storm 
of  cheers  greeted  the  conclusion  of  the  service, 
as  every  one  rushed  up  helter-skelter  to  kiss 
the  bride. 

Cherie  caught  sight  of  Nancy's  face,  and, 
slipping  away,  came  over  to  where  she  was 
standing  and  threw  her  arms  around  the  girl's 
neck. 

"I  fear  for  you  in  all  this  madness,  made- 
moiselle," she  said,  a  look  of  deep  concern  in 
her  dark  eyes.  "For  myself — I  am  used  to 
such  orgies,  and  tired  of  them,  too.  Now, 
thank  God,  I  feel  a  greater  security  than  I  have 
ever  known.  My  husband  is  a  man — a  real 
man.  You  would  scarcely  believe  me,  made- 
moiselle, but  I  am — happy.  And  he  will  pro- 
tect you,  too,  my  friend,  never  fear." 

"I  thank  you  both  from  the  depths  of  my 
heart,"  said  Nancy  simply,  kissing  her,  "but 
in  the  long  run  I  must  look  out  for  myself,  and 
that  I  shall  do." 

"You  do  not  know  what  I  know.  I  must 
warn  you.  The  governor  has  given  it  out  that 
you  are  reserved  for  him." 


87 

"His  eyes  have  told  me  as  much." 

"After  all,  if  you  could  be  philosophical 
about  it,  perhaps  it  would  be  the  best  thing. 
As  the  governor's  lady — well,  there  are  com- 
pensations in  that  station." 

"The  position  is  scarcely  permanent  enough," 
replied  Nancy  drily.  "It  is  one  I  do  not  crave, 
for  any  length  of  time." 

"Has  he  said  aught  to  you  since  you  came 
ashore?" 

"His  actions  have  spoken  more  plainly  than 
any  words." 

She  turned,  with  a  feeling  that  some  one  was 
looking  at  her,  and  saw  the  priest,  and  by  his 
side  d'Ogeron  again. 

The  governor  tried  to  take  her  by  the  hand, 
and  securing  it,  sought  to  embrace  her.  But 
she  tore  herself  away  from  his  grasp,  kicking 
and  struggling,  with  such  good  purpose  that 
finally  she  was  able  to  wrench  herself  free. 
The  crowd  had  closed  in  around  them,  shout- 
ing and  laughing.  The  governor's  face  was 
a  thunder-cloud. 

"A  very  wildcat  of  a  woman,  monsieur,"  hic- 
coughed the  monk,  holding  his  cassock  up  about 


88  BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

his  knees  as  he  jumped  up  and  down,  his  ro- 
tund little  body  shaking  with  mirth.  "By  our 
Lady!  A  wildcat!  A  tigress!" 

"I  shall  tame  her  quickly  enough,"  burst 
forth  the  governor.  "Out  of  my  way,  you 
beggars!  Are  these  the  best  manners  you 
have  that  you  should  stand  about  gaping  at 
me  ?  As  for  you,  mademoiselle,  the  padre  will 
accommodate  us  with  the  ritual  within  the 
hour." 

He  turned  and  strode  away,  nor  vouchsafed 
any  further  wedding  announcement. 

The  crowd  drew  back  respectfully  before 
Nancy  at  this.  "The  governor's  lady!  The 
governor's  lady!"  she  heard  them  saying,  the 
words  passing  from  lip  to  lip,  until  it  seemed 
to  have  spread  in  a  twinkling  all  over  the  island. 

Scarce  three  hundred  yards  off  shore,  for 
the  deep  water  made  close  in  under  the  over- 
hanging cliffs,  lay  the  Saint  Jean  Baptiste  in  a 
very  fair  berth,  anchors  at  bow  and  stern  for 
fear  of  her  being  driven  ashore  in  a  sudden 
squall ;  so  close  in,  that  it  seemed  as  if  a  stone 
might  have  been  dropped  upon  her  decks  from 
the  castle  perched  upon  the  hillside. 


THE  CASTLE  ON  THE  HILL      89 

Nancy,  wandering  down  to  the  beach  with 
Barney  and  Three-legs,  could  come  to  no  con- 
clusion upon  the  situation  in  which  she  found 
herself.  She  had  been  given  an  hour,  sixty 
minutes  more  of  liberty,  and  then — 

She  shivered  at  the  thought  of  the  alter- 
native as  the  words  she  had  so  bravely  spoken 
that  morning  came  rushing  back  upon  her  from 
her  memory. 

"No,"  she  had  said,  "not  while  that  cliff  is 
yonder !" 

Her  eyes,  fastened  so  longingly  upon  the 
ship  in  the  harbor,  she  raised  now  to  the  fort 
and  castle  on  the  crest  of  the  timbered,  rocky 
steep  which  overhung  the  cove.  And  as  she 
looked,  there  flashed  into  her  mind  what  Cap- 
tain Jean  had  told  her  on  shipboard  that  morn- 
ing. 

"Barney,"  she  cried,  turning  to  the  Irish 
boy  with  sudden  resolve  in  her  eyes,  "I  am 
going  to  put  my  life  and  honor  in  your  keep- 
ing. Do  you  know,  lad,  in  that  fort  on  the 
hill  are  thirty  Englishmen,  prisoners,  destined 
for  the  hulks  at  Toulon." 

"Thirty  Englishmen !" 


90  BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

"Hush!  Not  so  loud.  Aye,  thirty  of  our 
countrymen.  For  though  we  fight  one  an- 
other, Barney,  we  English  and  the  Irish  are 
of  one  blood  when  it  comes  to  a  foreign  foe." 

"Faith,  and  I  guess  that's  so,  true  enough. 
But  how  came  the  English  there?" 

"Prisoners  they  are,  lad,  who  refused  to  see 
Tortuga  seized  by  the  French,  and  so  are  go- 
ing back  in  chains.  It  makes  my  blood  hot 
to  think  of  Englishmen  in  such  a  plight,  but 
my  own  troubles  made  me  forget  them  until 
now,  fool  and  ingrate  that  I  am.  If  they 
knew  of  my  predicament  I  warrant  they  would 
not  desert  me." 

"I  see  what  you're  driving  at,"  he  shouted, 
his  eyes  dancing. 

"Shh!"  she  cautioned. 

"It  could  be  done!"  Barney's  voice  sank  to 
a  whisper,  and  his  red  rag  of  a  tongue  licked 
his  lips  with  delight.  "By  nightfall  all  these 
people  here  will  be  drunk." 

"  Tis  what  I  had  counted  upon." 

"And  the  sailors  from  the  ship,  they  are 
ashore  and  busy  at  the  wine-casks,  too." 

The  boy's  eyes  narrowed  to  slits.     Into  the 


THE  CASTLE  ON  THE  HILL      91 

face  of  Nancy  flamed  a  new  light  of  hope  and 
courage.  The  fighting  blood  of  the  Chilling- 
worths  was  leaping  through  her  veins. 

"We  must  make  it  succeed,  boy,"  she  whis- 
pered, looking  upward  at  the  castle  again. 

"But  the  keys?  We  cannot  batter  down 
walls  of  masonry." 

"Then  we  shall  gain  entrance  some  other 
way,  Barney.  And  take  this  charge  upon  your 
soul :  go  among  the  men  and  learn  what  guard 
watches  at  the  fort — and  how  many  mariners 
have  been  left  upon  the  ship.  Leave  the  rest 
to  me." 

"Aye,  that  I  will." 

"Now,  be  off  with  you  and  mind  you  ask 
your  questions  sagely,  that  no  one  may  suspect 
your  motive." 

She  watched  the  boy  run  off  and  disappear 
in  the  crov/d,  and  then,  following  more  slowly 
by  another  route,  was  soon  in  the  midst  of  the 
merrymakers,  searching  from  group  to  group, 
this  time  with  no  desire  to  conceal  herself 
from  Monsieur  d'Ogeron. 

Glancing  back,  her  heart  stood  still  when  she 
saw  a  man  creep  from  a  thicket  near  where 


92  BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

she  had  stood  with  Barney,  and  come  slinking 
along  under  the  trees — a  powerfully  built  man, 
with  long  arms,  and  a  skull  that  shone  in  the 
fierce  light  of  the  descending  sun  as  if  no  shred 
of  flesh  covered  the  naked  bone,  a  man  whose 
yellow  eyes  she  saw  even  at  that  distance 
gleaming  like  molten  gold. 


CHAPTER  VII 

SOMEBODY   SETS   A   TRAP 

There  was  something  so  sinister  and  furtive 
about  Yellow  Eyes'  movements  that  for  an  in- 
stant fear  raised  its  ugly  head  and  laid  a 
clammy  hand  upon  Nancy's  heart.  Had  she 
been  spied  upon?  Had  the  plot  she  and  Bar- 
ney had  just  laid  so  carefully  and  boldly  been 
disclosed? 

She  watched  him,  fascinated,  to  see  if  she 
could  discover  in  his  actions  anything  to  an- 
swer the  questions  that  concerned  her  now  so 
deeply.  He  was  coming  closer  to  her,  until 
she  could  see  the  wicked  glitter  in  those  burn- 
ing eyes,  the  toothless  gums,  the  great,  red 
throat  of  him,  for  his  mouth  was  opened  wide, 
and  he  was  panting  from  his  exertions  and 
the  heat,  panting  without  a  tongue.  He 
passed  her,  and  she  read  in  the  yellow  orbs 
which  glowed  in  his  head  a  message  as  plainly 
writ  as  if  it  had  been  upon  the  printed  page 

Q3 


94  BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

of  a  book,  as  she  had  read  his  silent  commands 
when  she  lay  in  the  straw  in  the  cart,  and  knew 
as  well  as  if  he  had  spoken  that  he  would  kill 
her  if  she  did  not  lie  still. 

Three-legs,  who  had  followed  her  and  was 
resting  himself  on  his  haunches  at  her  feet  and 
licking  the  stump  of  his  leg  which  was  now 
almost  healed,  showed  his  teeth,  and  would 
have  sprung  upon  his  enemy  had  not  the  girl 
held  him  back  by  main  strength,  both  hands 
grasping  the  loose  skin  of  his  neck. 

Yellow  Eyes  passed  on  with  a  parting  leer, 
his  strange  eyes,  which  she  sought  in  vain  to 
avoid,  now  burning  almost  red  like  coals  upon 
a  forge,  and  left  her  standing  there  in  deep 
perplexity.  And  thus  d'Ogeron  found  her  lost 
in  reverie.  She  saw  that  he  had  dressed  him- 
self in  finery  in  the  mode,  which,  she  made  no 
doubt,  had  been  brought  to  him  from  Paris 
on  the  Baptiste.  It  was  a  scarlet  riding-suit, 
with  black  silk  stockings,  and  a  new  short  coat, 
which  was  just  then  becoming  fashionable. 
His  hat  was  a  felt,  broad  of  brim,  and  with  a 
great  plume  upon  it  which  became  him  hand- 
somely. There  was  also  a  sword  at  his  side, 


SOMEBODY  SETS  A  TRAP        95 

a  slender  blade,  with  a  jeweled  hilt  that  spar- 
kled in  the  sun. 

"I  trust  that  mademoiselle  has  lost  her 
sulks,"  he  smiled  pleasantly  enough,  although 
his  eyes  were  cold.  "I  assure  you,  they  are 
not  becoming  to  so  charming  a  creature.  May 
I  hope  that  we  have  made  you  feel  at  home?" 

"Monsieur  has  been  most  kind,"  she  an- 
swered. "I  am  most  grateful." 

"Your  words  delight  me,  my  dear." 

He  moistened  his  lips  as  if  he  would  say 
something  more,  and  then,  hesitating,  offered 
her  his  arm  in  silence,  and  this  time,  dropping 
him  a  courtesy,  she  took  it  and  fell  into  step 
with  him  at  his  side.  They  passed  among  the 
rough  crew  of  roisterers,  who  winked  and 
smirked  at  them  knowingly,  until  the  rosy  blood 
mantled  her  face  and  she  hung  her  head,  pre- 
tending not  to  hear  the  coarse  jests  and  com- 
pliments showered  upon  them. 

"The  monk,"  said  d'Ogeron  presently, 
"awaits  your  pleasure.  I  need  not  tell  you 
how  eager  I  am  to  hear  pronounced  those 
words  which  will  entitle  me  to  give  you  that 
protection  which  one  so  beautiful  and  charm- 


96  BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

ing,  so  unfortunately  situated  as  I  realize  you 
are,  deserves  at  my  hands.  Sacre!  I  hope 
the  marriage  service  has  not  been  worn  out. 
Truly,  it  has  been  put  to  a  strain  this  day. 
Fifty  happy  couples  billing  and  cooing  in  Tor- 
tuga  this  evening,  where  only  yesterday  were 
but  rough  men  fighting  and  quarreling  with 
one  another. 

"Behold  these  smiling  brides  and  happy 
bridegrooms!  And  soon  we  shall  be  num- 
bered among  the  lot.  'Come,  mademoiselle,  im- 
patience fires  my  very  soul.  I  long  to  make 
you  happy." 

"That  you  can  do  very  easily,  monsieur." 

"Ah!     It  is  my  one  wish." 

"Then  bid  me  depart  in  peace,  monsieur." 

"Sacre  bleu!  Have  I  not  said  that  is  im- 
possible?" 

"I  cannot  live  here  in  this  rough  place,"  she 
answered.  "I  should  die  of  exposure  in  one 
of  these  huts." 

"Huts!  Mon  Dieu!  think  you  the  governor 
of  Tortuga  lives  in  a  shack  like  a  common  cat- 
tle-hunter? Your  nest  will  be  yonder,  in  the 
castle  on  the  hill,  mademoiselle.  The  'Dove- 


SOMEBODY  SETS  A  TRAP         97 

Cote'  it  was  called  by  my  predecessor,  Levas- 
seur,  who  erected  the  fort  there,  and  how  ap- 
propriately !" 

"Fort?"  she  queried.  "I  thought  I  under- 
stood you  to  say  'castle,'  m'sieu." 

"Oui.  It  is  the  same  thing,  part  castle,  part 
fort,  my  residence  and  the  defense  of  Tortuga 
as  well." 

"But  I  should  die  in  those  stone  walls." 

"Diable!  Die?  Stone  walls?  In  this  cli- 
mate? I  will  surround  you  with  all  the  luxu- 
ries of  Europe  and  the  Indies.  You  shall  dress 
in  silks  and  satins,  sleep  in  a  bed  a  viceroy's 
wife  bemoans  this  very  minute,  have  slaves 
to  wait  upon  you.  That  castle  is  a  storehouse 
of  treasure,  mademoiselle,  packed  with  the 
riches  plundered  from  a  dozen  galleons  by 
these  brave  freebooters  of  mine,  and  brought 
here  for  safe  keeping." 

"I  fear  you  do  exaggerate,  monsieur,  to 
tempt  me.  It  seems  strange  that  so  much 
wealth  should  be  in  a  place  like  this." 

"Exaggerate!  Your  own  eyes  shall  see  to 
your  satisfaction." 

"Aye,  but  then  'twill  be  too  late." 


98  BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

"Why,  a  hundred  men  could  tell  you  that  I 
speak  the  truth.  S  acre  I  Come  see  for  your- 
self." 

"Whither,  monsieur?" 

"To  the  castle." 

"Now?" 

"That  is  it.  Some  day  there  will  be  a  road 
up  the  cliff.  At  present  you  must  climb." 

"That  I  can  do  very  easily." 

"You  will  go,  then?" 

"Of  course." 

'Twill  give  you  an  opportunity,  too,  to 
change  your  dress  for  the  wedding.  You  shall 
select  what  you  wish  from  my  chests,  and 
garb  yourself  befitting  your  station.  Stupid! 
I  should  have  thought  of  it  before.  Shall  we 
start  at  once?" 

"With  all  my  heart,"  replied  Nancy. 

Her  voice  now  was  soft,  low,  caressing. 
She  gave  him  a  look  from  her  wide  blue  eyes 
that  dazzled  him  and  set  him  to  pulling  at  his 
mustache  with  vast  content. 

"Then  I  am  at  your  service." 

"Let  me  first  tell  my  comrade  that  I  am  go- 
ing," she  parried,  for  she  now  perceived  Bar- 


SOMEBODY  SETS  A  TRAP        99 

ney  at  a  little  distance  off,  signaling  to  her. 

She  nodded  to  the  governor,  and  running 
down  the  beach,  with  Three-legs  leaping  and 
barking  behind,  came  up  with  the  boy,  pant- 
ing and  out  of  breath. 

"How  now,  Barney?"  she  asked  iri  a  half- 
whisper,  and  laughing  in  spite  of  herself  at 
his  appearance,  for  his  shock  of  red  hair  was 
so  brushed  up  around  his  ears  and  over  his 
forehead  that  it  looked  like  a  flaming  battle- 
flag. 

"We're  in  luck,"  he  chuckled  gleefully. 
"Things  couldn't  be  better.  The  fprt  is  all  but 
deserted.  Six  men  were  left  on  guard  when 
the  watch  changed  at  noon,  but  four  have 
sneaked  down  for  the  rum  and  wine  and 
women,  and  the  other  two  must  be  pretty  tipsy 
by  this  time,  for  they  have  had  a  cask  sent  up 
to  them." 

"And  how  of  our  countrymen,  lad?" 

"The  English  prisoners  are  in  the  pit  in  the 
fortified  side  of  the  castle,  facing  the  sea. 
And  you  were  right  about  it — there  are  thirty 
of  them.  How  they  can  be  got  at  I  know 
not." 


ioo         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

"I  will  attend  to  -that.  But  of  the  ship, — 
didst  thou  learn  aught  of  the  ship?" 

"Aye,  that  I  did.  All  have  come  ashore  save 
the  middle  watch,  and  that  greatly  reduced; 
and  of  those  aboard,  most  have  had  their  turn 
ashore  and  have  gone  back  full  of  food  and 
drink  to  the  ears.  The  first  of  the  ebb  will  be 
at  eleven  to-night." 

"You  have  thought  of  everything,  Barney !" 
exclaimed  Nancy,  her  eyes  dancing.  "Now 
pay  strict  heed  to  what  I  say.  Do  you  keep 
Three-legs  with  you.  Now,  I  am  going  alone 
to  the  fort  with  the  governor.  Nay,  look  not 
anxious,  lad.  I  go  at  his  request  and  of  my 
own  free  will.  When  we  have  been  gone  the 
space  of  one-half  glass — canst  judge  the  time, 
Barney?  I  warrant  you,  you  can.  Well, 
then,  when  I  have  been  gone  for  half  an  hour, 
do  you  and  the  dog  follow  us.  Three-legs  will 
find  the  path  by  our  scent." 

"Then  what?" 

"We  must  be  guided  by  circumstances,  Bar- 
ney. When  you  reach  the  castle,  place  your- 
self in  a  secluded  place  as  near  the  entrance  as 
you  can  safely  lie.  And  if  all  goes  well  with 


SOMEBODY  SETS  A  TRAP       101 

me,  I  will  contrive  to  let  you  in  or  make  a  sig- 
nal to  you.  Much  depends  on  you,  Barney 
boy,  more  than  you  know." 

"I  would  lay  down  my  life  for  you,"  he  an- 
swered simply,  and  neither  of  them  knew  then 
what  those  words  were  to  mean  to  both  of 
them. 

She  grasped  his  hand  at  this.  Not  the  soft 
clasp  of  a  woman  did  she  give  him,  but  the 
hearty  grip  of  a  friend  and  comrade.  She 
turned  away  and  waved  her  hand  to  him,  and 
went  back  to  where  the  governor  stood,  and 
there  beside  him  was  Yellow  Eyes,  tugging  at 
his  sleeve  and  gesticulating  vigorously. 

Yellow  Eyes  pointed  to  the  girl  as  she  came 
up,  and  from  her  leveled  his  bony  index  finger 
at  the  castle  on  the  hill.  His  burnished  eyes 
seemed  afire,  his  purple  lips  were  twisted  and 
distorted,  his  tongueless  gullet  filled  with  slob- 
ber, so  disgusting  a  sight  that  even  d'Ogeron 
turned  away,  and  tried  to  push  the  fellow  off. 

"Mon  dieu!"  he  cried  to  Nancy.  "The 
rogue  is  trying  to  tell  me  something,  but  hath 
not  the  tongue  for  his  words.  What  ails  thee, 
wretch?  Sacre!  His  eyes  pierce  my  very 


102          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

soul.  I  think  he  hath  something  to  say  of  the 
castle,  but  what  I  know  not.  Is  it  of  the  cas- 
tle? Speak,  thou  rascal!" 

Yellow  Eyes  nodded. 

"Ah,  I  was  right  then.  Well,  what  is  it? 
What  is  it,  I  say!" 

He  roared  at  him  again  in  a  voice  of  rage, 
as  if  by  the  volume  of  the  sound  he  could  make 
the  dumb  man  articulate.  And  Yellow  Eyes 
merely  grimacing  at  this,  and  shaking  his  head, 
and  pointing  still  at  Nancy  and  the  castle,  the 
governor  suddenly  seized  him  and  shoved  him 
aside. 

"Out  of  my  way,  rogue.  Never,  I  swear, 
have  I  seen  so  evil  a  sight.  Ha!  He  under- 
stands what  I  say,  well  enough.  But,  of 
course,  he  is  not  dumb  from  birth,  but  only 
because  his  tongue  hath  been  clipped  and  so  is 
not  a  mute.  Never  mind!  Some  other  time, 
fellow,  you  may  tell  me  what  you  want  to  say." 

But  Yellow  Eyes,  not  to  be  put  off  so  easily, 
grasped  Nancy's  arm.  She  wrenched  away. 
Thinking  the  man  was  showing  a  persistence 
that  might  endanger  her  project,  she  said: 


SOMEBODY  SETS  A  TRAP       103 

"  Tis  the  fellow  I  fought  with  on  shipboard, 
monsieur.  I  suspect  he  is  making  a  complaint 
to  you  against  me." 

Yellow  Eyes  quivered  with  passion  at  this. 

"So  that's  it !"  cried  d'Ogeron,  the  impetuous 
lover  getting  the  better  of  the  prudent  gover- 
nor. "Off  with  you,  fellow,  and  let  me  hot  see 
your  hideous  face  again!" 

He  offered  Nancy  his  arm  and  escorted  her 
across  the  open  space  between  the  storehouses 
and  the  rough  huts  which  composed  the  set- 
tlement. 

The  day  had  run  its  course,  and  the  tropic 
night  which  drops  so  quickly  when  the  sun  goes 
down  was  all  about  them  with  its  blackness, 
shot  here  and  there  by  murky  glares  where 
bonfires  blazed  on  the  beach,  and  by  the  flicker- 
ing light  of  torches.  The  rough  cattle-hunt- 
ers, who  played  as  strenuously  as  they  worked 
at  their  trade  in  the  forests,  were  still  making 
the  island  resound  with  their  song  and  laugh- 
ter. Now  and  then  they  were  obliged  to  step 
over  the  recumbent  forms  of  men  who  had 
stretched  themselves  upon  the  ground  to  rest 


104          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

from  their  mad  pleasures,  or  else  because  of 
the  wine  and  brandy  which  had  been  drunk  in 
such  vast  quantities  that  day. 

Nancy,  looking  about  as  she  walked  along, 
saw  neither  Cherie  nor  Bras-de-Mort.  She 
hoped  that  they  had  withdrawn  from  the  scene 
of  these  orgies,  for  she  had  come  to  feel  for  the 
little  Parisienne  a  deep  sympathy,  and  wished 
that  she  would  be  happy  with  her  husband,  so 
strangely  found  in  the  New  World.  Most  of 
the  other  women  were  keeping  up  the  festivi- 
ties as  eagerly  as  their  companions,  nor  were 
they  the  less  backward  at  the  wine-casks. 

At  the  foot  of  the  cliff,  where  a  well-worn 
path  led  upward  through  the  trees,  the  gov- 
ernor, in  his  hand  a  torch  he  had  taken  from 
the  crotch  of  a  cedar,  went  ahead,  and,  bidding 
her  follow,  began  the  ascent,  not  without  many 
gasps  and  sighs,  for  he  was  a  portly  fellow  with 
a  big  paunch  arid  short  legs,  and  the  way  was 
steep.  Never  a  word  they  said  as  they  toiled 
upward.  After  pursuing  the  path  for  some 
little  distance,  they  came  to  rough  steps  hewn 
in  the  rock,  and  climbing  these  for  about  half 
the  height  of  the  promontory,  d'Ogeron  came 


SOMEBODY  SETS  A  TRAP      105 

to  a  halt  upon  a  little  platform,  puffing  from 
his  exertions. 

"From  here  we  climb,"  he  announced  briefly, 
holding  the  torch  aloft,  and  Nancy  saw  the 
rungs  of  an  iron  ladder  leading  upward 
through  the  trees  and  heavy  undergrowth 
which  clung  to  the  sides  of  the  cliff. 

"Very  good,  monsieur,"  she  answered  him; 
and  so  they  started  once  more,  hand  over  hand, 
foot  over  foot,  until  at  last  they  came  out  into 
a  little  clearing  where  the  trees  had  been  hacked 
away. 

The  girl,  straining  her  eyes  to  take  in  every 
detail,  noted  closely  the  position  of  the  rude 
fort,  or  castle  as  the  governor  called  it,  perched 
upon  the  mountainside,  its  gray  walls  of  stone 
and  heavy  timbers  bathed  in  a  flood  of  moon- 
light. In  the  harbor  below  them  she  saw  the 
ghostly  outlines  of  the  ship,  swinging  at  her 
cables,  every  mast  and  spar  outlined  in  the 
soft,  silvery  radiance. 

One  part  of  the  fort  she  observed — all  this 
while  the  governor  struggled  to  regain  his 
•breath — was  on  a  lower  level  than  the  rest, 
being  flush  with  the  precipice,  which  dropped 


io6         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

off  abruptly  at  its  foundations.  For  this  rea- 
son, and  because  there  were  no  windows  in  it 
that  she  could  see,  she  concluded  that  in  this 
part  was  located  the  pit  that  Barney  had  spoken 
of,  by  which  she  supposed  he  had  meant  a  dun- 
geon. Through  portholes  showed  the  muzzles 
of  two  cannon,  commanding  the  harbor. 

D'Ogeron  beckoned  to  her,  and,  still  in  si- 
lence, for  he  needed  his  breath  for  other  pur- 
poses than  speech,  marched  with  a  great  show 
of  dignity  to  the  heavy  door  of  acajou  wood, 
and,  pounding  upon  it  with  the  hilt  of  his 
sword,  motioned  to  her  when  it  had  swung 
open.  A  black  man  with  a  torch  in  his  hand 
stood  in  the  gloomy  aperture.  He  fastened 
the  door  behind  them,  when  they  had  entered, 
by  dropping  a  heavy  bar  into  place  through 
iron  hooks  on  either  side  of  the  frame,  and 
then  showed  the  way  down  a  long  stone-flagged 
passageway,  and  through  another  door,  which 
led  off  at  one  side,  into  a  large  chamber  with 
a  ceiling  of  hewn  beams,  in  the  French  style, 
and  a  stone  floor.  At  the  back  the  room 
opened  upon  a  garden  enclosed  by  the  other 
apartments  of  the  fort,  all  of  solid  masonry, 


SOMEBODY  SETS  A  TRAP      107 

in  the  center  of  which  a  fountain  splashed 
musically,  the  water  coming  from  a  natural 
spring  around  which  the  castle  had  been  built. 
The  leaves  of  mango  trees  and  prickly  palms, 
whose  roots  were  planted  in  the  crevices  of  the 
natural  rock,  stirred  uneasily  in  their  sleep, 
and  the  heavy  odor  of  the  blossoms  of  the 
manchineel  and  the  genipa-trees  made  the  soft 
night  air  drowsy  with  scent. 

In  the  middle  of  the  room  was  a  huge  table, 
laid  with  covers  for  three,  and  at  the  place 
at  the  side  sat  the  round-faced  monk,  the  leg 
of  a  roasted  fowl  in  one  hand  and  a  goblet  of 
wine  in  the  other.  Beside  his  chair,  in  a  defer- 
ential attitude,  stood  a  little  chap  in  a  dirty 
smock,  with  a  platter  of  m  meat  in  his  hands. 
From  this  he  was  preparing  to  serve  the  guest, 
who  was  clamoring  loudly  for  more  food.  Op- 
posite was  a  couch,  made  of  native  woods  and 
reeds,  and  covered  with  a  red  silk  scarf  beau- 
tifully embroidered  in  gold ;  and  above  it,  rest- 
ing upon  two  pegs  that  had  been  driven  into 
the  wall,  was  a  silver-mounted  musket. 

"Mon  dieu!  Monk,  couldst  not  wait  for  the 
wedding  feast  to  begin  before  stuffing  thy- 


io8         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

self?"  exploded  the  governor,  gasping  for 
breath,  and  his  face  purple  from  exertion  and 
rage.  "One  would  think  you  had  tasted  noth- 
ing for  a  week,  yet  I  myself  have  seen  thee 
gorging  thyself  this  whole  day  long." 

The  monk  turned  a  sheepish  countenance  to- 
wards them  at  this  interruption,  and  hastily 
dropped  the  chicken  bones  beneath  the  table. 

"Wedding  feast!"  cried  Nancy.  "I  under- 
stand you  not,  monsieur." 

"Be  seated,  mademoiselle."  D'Ogeron 
bowed,  and  motioned  her  to  the  table.  "I  hope 
the  viands  will  tickle  your  palate.  I  have 
scoured  the  island  for  meats  and  fruits,  and 
drawn  upon  my  most  prized  stores." 

"The  capon!"  interrupted  the  monk  ecstati- 
cally, carving  off  another  leg  of  the  fowl  as 
he  spoke,  and  thrusting  it  between  the  distended 
jaws  of  his  little  red  face,  which  shone  as 
though  it  had  been  greased.  "Never  have  I 
tasted  such  a  bird.  Seasoned?  Fit  for  a 
queen!  And  the  sauce,  mademoiselle!  And 
the  fish!  Such  a  fish!  And  these  violet  land 
crabs!  How  the  fragrance  salutes  my  nos- 
trils!" 


SOMEBODY  SETS  A  TRAP      109 

He  shook  his  head,  as  if  to  admit  that  fur- 
ther words  had  failed  him,  and,  rolling  his 
eyes  at  her,  drained  the  wine  glass  at  a  gulp, 
and  motioned  to  the  little  man  in  the  smock  to 
fill  it  up  again. 

"You  have  trapped  me,  monsieur,"  said  Mis- 
tress Chillingworth,  drawing  her  slim  figure 
up  very  straight.  "I  came  here  not  for  a 
wedding  feast,  but  to  inspect  the  wealth  with 
which  you  promised  to  endow  me." 

"The  whole  castle — everything — shall  be 
yours,"  replied  d'Ogeron,  with  a  grand  sweep 
of  his  arm.  "In  my  chests  and  boxes  are  silks 
and  satins,  and  velvet  goods,  in  which  to 
swathe  your  loveliness  at  your  pleasure.  You 
shall  have  what  an  empress  might  seek  in  vain, 
the  spoil  of  all  these  seas,  of  all  the  Spanish 
cities  on  the  isles  and  Main." 

"I  trusted  to  your  gallantry  as  a  Frenchman, 
monsieur.  I  look  to  your  conscience  for  bet- 
ter treatment  than  this  you  offer  me." 

"There  is  no  conscience  below  the  tropic, 
mademoiselle." 

"I  have  brought  mine  with  me,  sire." 

"If  I  did  deem  it  best  to  hasten  the  happy 


no         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

hour  of  our  nuptials,  it  is  for  you,  the  woman, 
to  bow  to  my  superior  judgment.  Be  assured 
I  have  not  acted  thus  without  a  view  to  your 
happiness  and  safety.  I  felt  my  heart  expand 
within  me  when  first  I  saw  you,  mademoiselle. 
My  pity  was  enlisted  in  your  behalf.  You 
are  among  rough  men.  I  offer  you  my  pro- 
tection and  my  love." 

"Love!  You  know  not  the  meaning  of  the 
word.  Things  have  come  to  a  pretty  pass, 
methinks,  when  cowards  prate  of  love." 

D'Ogeron's  face  darkened  at  this.  Draw- 
ing back  a  chair  he  curtly  motioned  her  to  be 
seated. 

"Enough,  mademoiselle!"  he  said.  "You 
mock  me  for  the  honor  I  would  pay  you.  Bet- 
ter the  governor's  lady  than  a  courtesan  on  the 
streets  of  Paris." 

Nancy's  whole  body  quivered  at  this  insult, 
as  if  she  had  felt  the  lash  of  a  whip  across  her 
face,  and,  when  the  Frenchman  threw  his  arm 
around  her  waist  and  tried  to  draw  her  to  him, 
she  squirmed  out  of  his  grasp,  and,  bending 
suddenly,  gave  him  so  sharp  a  blow  behind  the 


SOMEBODY  SETS  A  TRAP      in 

knees  that  he  went  sprawling,  so  astonished 
that  he  was  speechless.  He  lay  there  blinking 
at  her,  the  room  in  silence,  save  for  Nancy's 
heavy  breathing,  the  monk  with  a  chicken  wing 
half-way  to  his  mouth. 

"Sacre!  What  a  wife  you  will  make,  when 
I  shall  have  tamed  you,"  said  the  governor, 
rolling  over  upon  his  back,  and  trying  fran- 
tically to  get  upon  his  feet. 

"You  should  be  a  judge,  monsieur,"  said 
Nancy. 

"What's  that?" 

"How  many  others  have  passed  this  way 
before  me?  Three  I  know  on.  Where  are 
they  now?  Buried  beneath  the  flagstones 
where  I  stand,  perchance." 

"Curse  the  vixen!"  cried  the  governor, 
struggling  to  his  knees.  "Stop  her,  monk! 
Stop  her,  I  say!" 

"Mayhap  it  is  their  spirits  I  hear  wailing 
in  the  garden,"  said  Nancy.  "Listen !" 

A  moaning  sound,  half  groan,  half  shriek, 
echoed  dismally  through  the  dark  passageway 
outside. 


ii2         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

"Mother  of  Mary !  Save  me !"  cried  d'Oge- 
ron,  getting  upon  his  feet,  and  shaking  so  at 
the  knees  he  was  like  to  fall  again. 

The  moaning  sound  floated  in  to  them  again. 

"Hide  me,  monk,"  begged  d'Ogeron,  the 
tremor  upon  his  whole  body.  "Throw  thy  holy 
water  upon  me.  Hark!  The  spirits  are 
knocking  upon  the  door." 

"  'Tis  some  one  in  the  flesh,  then,"  said 
Nancy.  "See  who  is  there,"  she  added  to  the 
blackamoor. 

Now  they  could  all  hear  some  one  knocking 
upon  the  great  door,  and  the  black  man  going 
to  open  it,  came  back  presently,  and  there  be- 
hind him,  upon  the  threshold,  was  Yellow  Eyes, 
rubbing  his  hands  and  leering  at  them  with 
eyes  like  molten  gold. 

"Diable!"  cried  the  governor.  "  'Tis  the 
dumb  man.  What  want  you  here,  rogue? 
Did  I  not  tell  you  upon  the  beach  to  get  thee 
gone?  By  the  Virgin!  How  he  gibbers! 
Curses  on  your  impudence,  fellow,  be  off  with 
you  before  I  have  my  servants  throw  you  out." 

Yellow  Eyes  stood  looking  from  one  to  the 


SOMEBODY  SETS  A  TRAP       113 

other,  an  inarticulate  gurgle  in  his  empty 
throat,  his  toothless  gums  opening  and  shut- 
ting spasmodically. 

"Canst  hear  what  I  say,  knave?"  shouted 
the  governor. 

Yellow  Eyes  nodded  his  fleshless  skull. 

"Then  out  with  it!  Out  with  it,  I  say! 
You  torture  me  with  my  inability  to  under- 
stand what  those  great  eyes  of  yours  are  say- 
ing; though,  by  the  Holy  Virgin!  I  believe  he 
doth  try  to  speak  of  the  English  dogs  in  the 
dungeon." 

A  great  wagging  of  Yellow  Eyes'  head,  his 
molten  eyes  turning  red  with  a  strange,  new 
light  which  flamed  into  them. 

"Sacre!  It  is  the  prisoners.  Is  that  right, 
rogue  ?" 

Another  nod  from  Yellow  Eyes. 

"Mother  of  Mary!  What  is  it,  then? 
Speak,  I  tell  you — speak!"  roared  the  gover- 
nor in  a  fair  rage  by  this  time. 

"Hein!  He  can  not  speak  better  for  your 
yells,  though  you  shouted  yourself  as  dumb  as 
he  is,"  broke  in  the  monk.  He  poured  a  great 


114          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

goblet  of  wine,  and  drained  it,  and  smacked  his 
lips.  "Mon  dieu!  Maybe  the  fellow  can 
write,  if  he  cannot  talk." 

"Curse  my  soul,  monk,  but  thou  art  the  very 
devil  for  ideas,"  cried  d'Ogeron.  "Canst 
write,  knave?" 

Yellow  Eyes  shook  his  head  that  he  could 
not. 

"Curse  thee  for  the  blockhead  that  thou 
art!" 

"Let  me  try  him,"  interrupted  the  monk,  put- 
ting down  his  chicken  bones  and  licking  his 
fingers,  while  Nancy  threw  at  him  a  glance  of 
alarm.  "It  is  about  the  Englishmen  you  would 
speak  ?" 

A  nod  of  assent  from  Yellow  Eyes. 

"Something  the  governor  wants  to  know?" 

Another  nod,  more  vigorous  than  the  previ- 
ous one. 

"Important?" 

Still  another  nod. 

"Ah !  We  are  getting  at  something.  Now, 
what  next?"  He  wrinkled  his  forehead  and 
licked  his  greasy  fingers  reflectively.  "Nice 
Englishmen?"  he  queried,  while  a  silly  smile 


SOMEBODY  SETS  A  TRAP      115 

overspread  his  shiny  face  at  his  own  question. 

"Nice  grandmother !"  snorted  the  governor, 
but  Yellow  Eyes  shaking  his  head  so  violently 
in  disapproval  of  the  suggestion  that  the  Eng- 
lish prisoners  were  nice,  both  d'Ogeron  and  the 
monk  looked  at  him  in  amazement  as  he  leveled 
his  bony  finger  full  at  Nancy. 

She  had  been  standing  at  the  table,  on  the 
side  nearest  the  couch,  and  d'Ogeron,  moving 
excitedly  from  her  toward  Yellow  Eyes,  she 
sprang  to  the  wall,  seized  the  musket,  and  pre- 
sented it  full  at  the  governor's  head  in  such  a 
way  that  the  muzzle  commanded  Yellow  Eyes 
as  well. 

"If  anybody  in  this  room  moves  a  step  with- 
out my  permission,  I  will  kill  him!"  she  said. 
"Stir,  and  I  will  blow  the  top  of  your  head 
off." 

Without  turning  her  head  to  look  at  him, 
she  addressed  the  little  man  in  the  dirty  smock 
who  was  standing  behind  the  monk's  chair. 

"Are  you  not  a  Fleming?"  she  asked  in 
Dutch,  for  she  had  lived  long  in  Flanders  -and 
spoke  that  language  and  Spanish,  as  well  as 
French  and  her  own  tongue. 


n6         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

"Yes,"  answered  the  man,  his  face  brighten- 
ing, but  keeping  a  nervous  eye  upon  d'Ogeron, 
nevertheless. 

"I  made  sure  of  it  when  first  I  saw  you. 
Can  your  master  speak  your  language  ?" 

"No." 

"Nor  the  monk?" 

"No." 

"Is  your  master  kind  and  good  to  you?" 

The  man  hesitated,  a  look  of  fear  in  his 
eyes.  "No,"  he  replied  faintly. 

"Would  you  escape  if  chance  offered  you 
the  opportunity  ?" 

"Ja.    With  all  my  heart!" 

"And  the  black  man.  Is  he,  too,  anxious 
to  regain  his  liberty  ?" 

"He  weeps  all  day  for  his  wife  and  baby. 
He  is  not  happy  here." 

"Where  are  they?" 

"I  do  not  know.  Somewhere  on  the  Gold 
Coast." 

"Can  you  speak  his  language,  or  he  yours?" 

"I  have  taught  him  a  few  words;  he  has 
taught  me  some  of  his." 

"Tell  him  from  me  that  if  he  will  do  as  I 


SOMEBODY  SETS  A  TRAP       117 

say  this  night,  I  will  give  him  his  liberty.  Aye, 
if  I  have  to  take  him  back  to  Africa  myself,  I 
will  restore  him  to  his  wife  and  baby,  if  he  will 
but  obey  me  in  everything  I  command." 

The  little  Fleming  spoke  a  few  guttural 
words  to  the  negro,  who  showed  his  white  teeth 
in  a  broad  grin  and  answered  him,  edging  away 
the  while  from  his  master. 

"I  could  not  explain  all  to  him,"  said  the 
Flem ;  "he  said  he  would  follow  me  in  all  things. 
I  can  trust  him." 

"Tell  him  to  unbar  'the  great  door  and  whis- 
tle thrice." 

The  Fleming  repeated  the  message. 

"He  says  he  cannot  whistle.  He  does  not 
know  how  to  do  it;  I  cannot  make  him  under- 
stand." 

"Then,  do  you  go.  Simply  unbar  the  great 
door  and  whistle  thrice,  as  loudly  as  you  can; 
then  leave  the  door  unbarred,  and  return  here." 

D'Ogeron's  face  was  purple  with  rage. 
Now,  as  his  serving  man  began  creeping  to- 
wards the  door,  keeping  his  back  always  to  the 
wall,  he  burst  forth  in  a  perfect  storm  of 
anger. 


n8         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

"Strike  her  down,  you  scullion !"  he  roared. 
"  'Tis  a  woman,  fool — a  chit  of  a  girl.  Throw 
thyself  upon  her." 

The  Fleming  stopped  irresolute,  rooted  in  his 
tracks,  and  gave  Nancy  a  look  from  his  eyes  in 
which  she  saw  fear  and  doubt. 

"Throw  thyself  upon  her,  varlet!  Do  you 
value  your  own  wretched  life  above  your  mas- 
ter's? To-morrow  you  shall  swing  for  this." 

"Do  not  fear  him,  my  friend,"  said  Nancy, 
smiling  encouragement.  "To-morrow  we 
shall  be  far  away  from  here,  and  he  cannot 
harm  you." 

The  man  moved  toward  the  door.  And  now 
he  would  have  to  pass  Yellow  Eyes,  who  stood 
nearest  to  the  opening. 

"Hear  you,  dumb  man,"  admonished  the  girl, 
"if  you  seek  to  hinder  him  in  any  way,  be  as- 
sured I  shall  kill  thee  if  it  take  the  only  charge 
in  my  musket  to  do  it." 

Yellow  Eyes  did  not  stir.  The  Fleming 
reached  the  door,  darted  out  and  disappeared 
in  the  passageway  without,  and  she  heard  him 
unbarring  the  great  door,  and,  immediately 


SOMEBODY  SETS  A  TRAP      119 

thereafter,  the  sound  of  three  long  whistles 
came  faintly  to  her  ears. 

"Strike  her  down,  monk!"  cried  the  gov- 
ernor. "She  durst  not  harm  a  man  of  your 
cloth.  Perdition  take  you!  Do  something,  I 
say!  Sacre!  Excommunicate  her,  monk !" 

The  monk  at  this,  with  a  wild  look  about  him, 
slid  under  the  table  with  an  agility  that  he 
would  not  have  been  given  credit  for,  and 
presently,  everything  remaining  quiet,  his 
hairy  arm  appeared  above  the  board,  groped 
around  among  the  dishes,  found  a  bottle  which 
he  tightly  clutched,  and  that  too  disappeared. 
Whereupon  the  silence  was  broken  by  a  gur- 
gling sound,  and  an  instant  later  by  footsteps  in 
the  passage. 


A   FRIEND   TO   THE   RESCUE 

On  the  beach  under  the  castle  on  the  hill 
Barney,  and  the  three-legged  dog,  lay  in  the 
soft  sand,  silence  and  the  night  heavy  upon 
them.  The  sea  whispered  to  his  eager  soul  a 
lyric  song  that  set  his  brain  throbbing  with 
delight.  When  he  judged  that  half  a  glass 
had  run  its  course,  he  arose  softly  to  his  feet, 
skirted  the  crowd  of  merrymakers,  who  far- 
ther down  the  beach  still  kept  up  their  singing 
and  shouting,  and  began  working  his  way  to 
the  foot  of  the  path  that  led  up  the  side  of 
the  mountain. 

Under  a  genipa-tree  a  sailor  lay  sleeping,  ex- 
hausted by  his  day  of  debauchery,  his  head  pil- 
lowed upon  his  arm.  Barney  glanced  about 
him  stealthily,  and,  observing  no  one  near,  bent 
down,  and  feeling  in  the  mariner's  shirt 
possessed  himself  of  his  knife  and  pistol. 

Then  he  vanished  into  the  shadows  at  the 

I2O 


A  FRIEND  TO  THE  RESCUE    121 

foot  of  the  cliff,  and  began  to  climb,  Three- 
legs  sniffing  the  ground  eagerly.  Suddenly  the 
dog  whined,  and  Barney  grasped  him  by  the 
muzzle  just  in  time  to  choke  back  a  bark. 

"What  is  it,  boy?"  he  whispered.  "What's 
the  matter,  old  fellow  ?" 

He  seized  the  dog's  scruff  tightly  in  his  hand 
to  keep  him  from  bounding  away,  and  then, 
looking  upward  through  the  trees,  saw,  in  a 
clearing  where  a  little  of  the  moonlight  sifted 
through  the  branches,  the  furtive  figure  of  a 
man  slinking  up  the  stone  steps,  a  grotesque 
figure  with  the  head  and  shoulders  of  a  Her- 
cules and  the  pendulant  arms  of  some  monster 
ape,  the  sinister  figure  of  Yellow  Eyes,  the 
tongueless  man,  creeping  noiselessly,  now  hid- 
den by  the  gnarled  trunks  of  palms  and  cedars, 
again  showing  for  an  instant  in  the  shimmer- 
ing moonlight,  like  some  uncanny  beast  in  the 
jungle.  Boy  and  dog  followed  as  closely  be- 
hind him  as  Barney  dared  to  go.  When  they 
reached  the  bottom  of  the  ladder,  they  saw  him 
far  above  them,  and  by  the  time  the  Irish  lad 
had  half-carried  the  three-legged  mastiff  up 
the  iron  rounds,  the  dumb  man  had  disap- 


122         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

peared,  nor  could  he  see  him  anywhere  upon 
the  top  of  the  precipice,  at  the  castle  door. 

"Faith!"  said  Barney,  eyeing  the  heavy 
panels  that  confronted  him,  "he  must  have  gone 
in  there,  but  how  we  shall  manage  it  is  another 
question,  Three-legs."  He  tried  the  door.  It 
was  as  unyielding  to  his  hands  as  the  solid  ma- 
sonry on  either  side.  "What  now,  Three- 
legs?  Let's  have  a  look,"  whispered  the  boy, 
and  with  this  went  prowling  through  the  shad- 
ows. At  the  back  the  walls  of  the  fort  were 
built  into  the  rocks  which  towered  far  above 
his  head,  and  so  thick  were  the  trees,  with 
great  roots  spreading  all  about  to  trip  him  and 
impede  his  progress,  and  so  covered  with 
thorns,  that  he  soon  gave  it  over,  and  went  back 
the  other  way,  pushing  through  the  under- 
growth until  he  came  out  on  the  top  of  the  cliff, 
overlooking  the  sea,  bathed  in  silver.  On  this 
side  the  wall  of  the  castle  was  flush  with  the 
face  of  the  precipice,  and  he  could  not  find  a 
place  for  his  foot  to  climb  out  over  that  dizzy 
chasm. 

While  he  stood  there  in  the  shadows,  his 
heart  beating  so  violently  under  his  jacket  that 


A  FRIEND  TO  THE  RESCUE     123 

he  could  feel  it  pounding  against  his  ribs,  the 
sound  of  three  long  whistles  rippled  through 
the  night.  His  body  grew  rigid  for  an  in- 
stant, and  then  he  sped  back  through  the  trees 
to  the  castle  door.  It  stood  open,  now,  and  be- 
yond the  opening  lay  only  darkness.  Into  this 
plunged  Three-legs,  and  was  swallowed  up. 
Feeling  for  the  weapons  he  had  taken  from  the 
sailor  on  the  'beach  below,  Barney  followed. 
Along  the  passageway  his  feet  were  guided  by 
his  outstretched  hands,  until,  ahead  of  him,  he 
saw  the  gleam  of  a  light,  and,  breaking  into 
a  run,  suddenly  found  himself  in  a  great  room 
whose  occupants  seemed  turned  to  stone. 

The  three-legged  mastiff  crouched,  as  if  to 
hurl  himself  at  the  throat  of  Yellow  Eyes, 
while  Barney,  seeing  d'Ogeron  held  under  the 
muzzle  of  Nancy's  musket,  put  his  pistol  at 
the  black  man's  head  and  his  knife  at  the  pit 
of  his  stomach. 

"How  now,  Barney!"  cried  Nancy. 
"Would  you  kill  our  good  servant?  Have  a 
care,  the  black  man  is  on  our  side.  You  look 
after  Yellow  Eyes." 

She  bade  the  Fleming  procure  all  the  cordage 


124         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

he  could  find,  and  the  man,  disappearing  and 
coming  back  in  a  moment  with  an  armful  of 
ropes,  he  and  Barney  first  tied  the  feet  of  Yel- 
low Eyes,  helpless  under  the  threatening  jaws 
of  the  mastiff,  then  tripped  him,  wound  him 
around  with  cords,  and  rolled  him  into  a  cor- 
ner, bleeding  from  a  cut  over  the  ear. 

''And  now,  monsieur,"  she  said,  addressing 
the  governor,  from  whose  face  she  had  never 
once  taken  her  eyes,  and  stepping  closer  to  him, 
so  that  the  muzzle  of  her  barrel  was  but  a  foot 
from  his  heart,  "it  is  your  turn." 

D'Ogeron  gulped  down  the  anger  that  all 
but  choked  him. 

"The  English  prisoners !"  he  finally  managed 
to  gasp  out.  "So  that  is  your  plot — and  that  is 
what  the  dumb  man  with  the  yellow  eyes  would 
have  told  me.  Fool !  Fool  that  I  was !  The 
English  prisoners!  Well,  what  if  you  do  re- 
lieve them?  My  cattle-hunters  will  tear  them 
limb  from  limb." 

"That  is  as  it  may  be,"  replied  Nancy  coolly. 
"You  forget  that  there  is  a  ship  in  the  harbor, 
monsieur,  and  that  my  countrymen  are  the 


A  FRIEND  TO  THE  RESCUE     125 

greatest  sailors  in  all  the  world.  And  now — 
the  keys." 

"What  keys?" 

"Those  to  the  dungeon  where  the  prisoners 
are  kept." 

"And  what  if  I  refuse?" 

"I  will  kill  you,  and  then  batter  down  the 
walls." 

"Mon  dieu!  I  believe  you  would.  Made- 
moiselle, I  will  set  the  English  prisoners  free 
and  let  them  depart  in  peace  for  the  colony  in 
Jamaica,  if  you  will  but  remain  here  with  me 
and  be  my  wife." 

"Time  passes  swiftly,  monsieur — the  keys,  at 
once!" 

"Then  let  me  pass,  mademoiselle;  they  are  in 
my  private  apartment." 

"Is  that  true  ?"  asked  Nancy,  in  Dutch,  with- 
out looking  behind  her,  never  taking  her  eyes 
from  the  governor's  face. 

"He  wears  them  in  his  belt,"  replied  the 
Fleming,  in  French,  so  that  d'Ogeron,  favoring 
him  with  a  particularly  vicious  look,  drew  them 
forth  and  hurled  them  to  the  floor. 


126         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

"Now,  Barney,"  said  the  girl  softly,  in  Eng- 
lish, "do  you  slip  up  behind  him  and  deal  him 
a  blow  with  the  butt  of  thy  pistol.  It  grieves 
me  to  have  it  done,  but  'tis  the  only  way,  for 
I  fear  the  consequences  did  he  ever  come  to 
close  quarters  with  me." 

"Faith!  I  long  for  the  chance,"  answered 
the  Irish  lad. 

He  passed  softly  behind  the  governor,  non- 
chalantly, as  if  inspecting  the  beamed  ceiling, 
and  then  dealt  him  a  blow  behind  the  ear  that 
stretched  him  senseless  upon  the  floor. 

Then  they  fell  upon  him,  tying  his  wrists  and 
feet,  and  winding  him  about  with  ropes,  and 
stuffed  a  gag  in  his  mouth,  and  so  left  him 
there.  Nancy  secured  the  keys,  and,  guided 
by  the  Fleming,  they  started  from  the  room. 

"Hist!"  cried  Barney,  as  they  reached  the 
door.  "We'd  better  go  back — we  forgot  to 
gag  the  dumb  man." 

"Don't  be  silly,  Barney,"  laughed  the  girl, 
and  the  Irish  boy  looking  foolish  and  down- 
cast at  this  sally,  she  threw  her  arms  about  him 
impulsively  and  hugged  him.  "You  are  a 
brave  lad,  Barney  boy,"  she  whispered,  "and 


A  FRIEND  TO  THE  RESCUE    127 

from  my  heart  I  thank  you.  But  we  idle. 
There  is  much  to  be  done  before  the  night  is 
over." 

And  so  they  rushed  out,  pell-mell,  across  the 
passage,  down  a  flight  of  stone  steps,  along  an- 
other shorter  corridor,  the  negro  going  ahead 
with  a  link-light  to  show  the  way.  Another 
flight  of  stairs  led  downward,  and  descending 
them  they  came  to  an  iron  door  set  into  the 
solid  masonry. 

They  had  barely  got  this  open  with  one  of 
the  keys  from  the  governor's  bunch,  when  the 
light  blew  out  in  the  sudden  draft  which 
greeted  them. 

"No  time  to  go  back  for  another  light,"  com- 
manded the  girl.  "We  must  go  on  in  the 
dark." 

They  felt  their  way  through  a  chamber  so 
large  that  Nancy  could  touch  no  wall  by 
stretching  forth  her  arms  on  either  side.  At 
the  far  end  they  reached  still  another  iron  door, 
with  a  grating  of  iron  bars  in  the  upper  half. 

"In  there,"  whispered  the  Fleming. 

Nancy,  feeling  for  the  lock,  took  the  key  he 
indicated. 


128         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

"Holloa!"  she  called.  "Men  of  England! 
A  friend  to  the  rescue !" 

"Bully  for  you,  Devon,"  answered  a  man's 
voice  from  the  darkness.  "A  Devonshire 
voice  that,  and  a  woman's  to  boot,  or  you  can 
keel-haul  me." 

The  man's  tones,  so  rich  and  deep  and  vi- 
brant, thrilled  her  and  set  her  heart  to  beat- 
ing as  it  had  never  beat  before. 

"Aye,  sir,"  she  answered,  "an  English  girl. 
Follow  me  at  once — there's  no  time  to  be  lost." 

"Right  you  are,"  replied  the  voice  in  the 
dark.  "Ho,  lads!  Tumble  up  there,  my 
hearties !  Here's  an  English  girl  come  to  steer 
us  out  of  this  beastly  hole." 

She  had  found  the  lock  now,  and,  thrusting 
the  key  in,  threw  open  the  door.  As  it  swung 
back  creaking  and  grinding  on  its  hinges,  she 
heard  the  rush  of  men's  feet  upon  the  stone 
passageway,  engulfed  in  blackness,  which 
yawned  mysteriously  in  front  of  her. 

"Steady,  lads!"  commanded  the  vibrant 
voice  again,  while  Nancy,  as  the  sound  of  it 
bathed  her  soul  with  a  new  and  strange  delight, 
felt  a  sense  of  strength  and  confidence  take 


129 

possession  of  her  whole  being.  "Line  up,  men, 
and  answer  to  your  names." 

The  corridor  was  suddenly  full  of  invisible 
forms.  Then  the  voice  in  the  dark  again — 

"Will  Johnson?" 

"Aye!" 

"Trueheart  Jackson?" 

"Aye,  sir!" 

"Jim  Rimble,  are  you  there?" 

"Well,  I  should  kiss  a  pig!" 

"Then  stand  in  the  doorway  here  and  tally 
the  men  off  as  they  come  out,  lest  one  be  asleep 
in  the  dark  and  be  left  behind.  Count  me  as 
one." 

He  stepped  into  the  dark  chamber  beside 
her,  and  the  girl  felt  him  touch  her  shoulder, 
and  then  grasp  her  hand  silently  with  a  clasp 
of  comradeship,  and  manliness,  and  vigor  that 
went  straight  to  her  heart. 

"Thirty,  right — all  accounted  for,  sir,"  said 
another  voice  from  the  depths  of  the  gloom. 

"Very  good,  Jim  Rimble.  Now  do  you  take 
up  the  end  of  the  line.  Forward,  men — softly, 
lads,  softly.  Lead  on,  Devonshire  girl!" 

They  felt  their  way  along  the  corridor,  back 


130          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

over  the  route  by  which  they  had  come,  Nancy, 
Barney,  the  black  man  and  the  Fleming  going 
ahead,  with  Three-legs  sniffing  along  in  front, 
his  scruff  in  the  boy's  fingers,  the  Englishmen 
marching  along  after  in  single  file.  Up  the 
steps,  down  the  long  corridor  they  crept. 
More  steps  to  be  stumbled  over,  the  men  ad- 
monishing one  another  to  be  quiet  and  making 
all  the  more  noise  for  their  pains. 

In  front  of  the  door  to  the  big  room  Nancy 
stopped,  pushed  it  open,  and  stepped  quickly 
within.  The  link-lights  still  burned  as  brightly 
as  before.  D'Ogeron  lay  where  she  had  left 
him,  bound  and  gagged.  He  had  come  to  his 
senses,  and  glared  at  her  in  impotent  rage, 
struggling  frantically  to  free  himself.  The 
feet  of  the  monk  'Stuck  out  from  beneath  the 
table  on  one  side,  and  from  the  other  a  long, 
hairy,  red  arm  and  a  grimy  hand,  still  clasping 
a  bottle  by  the  neck.  His  snores,  and  grunts, 
and  groans,  and  rumblings  filled  the  chamber 
like  the  music  of  a  pipe  organ  in  a  cathedral. 

But  where  was  Yellow  Eyes  ?  Gone !  Only 
a  spatter  of  blood  on  the  floor  to  show  where 
he  had  lain,  and  beside  it  the  ropes  from  which 


A  FRIEND  TO  THE  RESCUE     131 

he  had  freed  himself.  That  he  had  not 
stopped  to  liberate  the  governor  she  attributed 
to  the  fact  that  he  had  probably  heard  them 
coming  just  as  he  had  succeeded  in  working 
loose.  So  she  concluded  he  had  taken  but  a 
short  start  of  them.  She  sprang  back  into  the 
corridor,  as  the  head  of  the  line  came  up. 

"Quickry,  men !"  she  shouted.  "  'Tis  life  or 
death  now.  One  has  escaped  who  will  spread 
the  alarm." 

The  monk  rolled  over  at  the  sound  of  her 
voice,  and  sat  up  stupidly  as  she  darted  from 
the  room.  She  sped  down  the  corridor  which 
led  to  the  great  door,  the  men  swift  in  her 
wake,  and  they  were  soon  in  the  little  clearing 
on  the  crest  of  the  mountain.  The  moon  was 
gone,  and  where  she  had  ridden  a  bank  of 
clouds  reared  their  angry  thunderheads.  The 
darkness  was  thick  around  them. 

"Men!"  called  Nancy.  "There's  work 
ahead  of  you  this  night.  There's  a  ship  in  the 
harbor  to  be  taken.  She  lies  close  in,  with 
only  half  a  watch  aboard,  and  they  drunk." 

"Drunk!"  cried  a  husky  voice  at  her  side. 
"Some  men  get  all  the  luck  in  this  world." 


132         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

"Silence,  Jim  Rimble!"  The  vibrant  voice 
that  Nancy  -had  come  to  know  so  well  had  a 
ring  of  command  in  it,  and  Jim  Rimble  sub- 
sided with  a  parting  threat  to  kiss  a  pig. 

"How's  the  tide?"  asked  the  vibrant  voice. 

"It  should  soon  turn  ebb,"  she  answered, 
straining  her  eyes  for  him  in  the  deep  gloom. 

"Then  we  have  luck  with  us — all  but  Jim 
Rimble."  The  men  laughed  at  this  sally. 
"Now  then,  lads,  one  foot  right  after  the  other 
now,  and  don't  go  to  sleep  on  the  path.  Lead 
on,  Devon,  and  we  will  take  a  dozen  ships,  do 
you  but  say  the  word." 

"Are  any  of  you  armed?"  asked  the  girl. 

"All  armed,"  laughed  the  voice. 

"Good !"  she  cried.  "For  the  island  swarms 
with  cattle-hunters  and  buccaneers.  Armed 
with  what?" 

"British  fists,"  laughed  the  voice  again,  while 
the  men  shouted. 

"Fists!" 

"Aye.  Don't  you  worry  about  our  arms, 
my  girl." 

"I  have  a  musket,  and  thought  you  would 
care  to  take  it  from  me." 


A  FRIEND  TO  THE  RESCUE     133 

"A  good  idea.     Pass  it  to  me,  lads." 

"And  the  boy  here  hath  a  pistol  and  a  knife." 

"Pass  'em  along,  too,  little  'un." 

"Faith!  that  I  won't,"  rebelled  Barney. 
"Damn  my  eyes  if  you  get  my  pistol — but 
here's  the  knife."  He  handed  it  to  the  man 
nearest  him. 

"All  ready,  Devon?" 

"All  ready !  And  we  must  go  straight  over 
the  face  of  the  cliff." 

"Why  not  by  the  path — we  know  it  well?" 

"We  want  no  quarrel,  only  our  freedom. 
The  whole  island  is  gathered  at  the  settlement 
below,  feasting  and  drinking." 

"Feasting" — it  was  the  husky  voice  again — 
"and  drinking !  I  say,  fellows,  we  ought  to  go 
down  and  clean  up  the  whole  gang  of  'em." 

"Avast  there,  Jim  Rimble.  The  maid  is 
right.  Over  the  cliff,  lads,  and  step  lively." 

So  they  went  scrambling  through  the  un- 
dergrowth, clinging  to  the  rocks  and  roots  and 
branches  of  trees,  and  the  thick  tropical  vines 
which  grew  in  a  network  over  the  side  of  the 
mountain,  Nancy  and  Barney,  with  Three-legs 
between  them,  helping  the  crippled  dog  who 


134         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

was  hard  put  to  find  a  grip  for  his  toes  and 
whined  and  moaned  continuously. 

Every  man  for  himself  it  was,  in  that  mad 
tumble  through  the  jungle,  until  they  came  out 
at  last  upon  the  hard  sand  beach  at  the  foot  of 
the  precipice,  where  they  counted  noses  and 
found  they  had  lost  not  a  man  in  the  descent, 
mad  and  reckless  as  it  had  been. 

Nancy  and  Barney,  undertaking  to  locate  the 
small  boats  which  had  been  drawn  up  on  shore, 
went  away  now,  and  in  the  mouth  of  a  little 
creek  where  they  had  landed  from  the  ship 
earlier  in  the  day,  they  found  a  longboat  hauled 
up,  and  so,  spying  out  no  other,  Barney  went 
back  for  the  men  and  brought  them  up. 

The  fires  on  the  beach  had  burned  themselves 
out,  so  that  they  were  in  little  danger  of  de- 
tection as  they  slunk  along,  bending  low,  as 
far  from  the  water's  edge  as  they  could  get. 
Up  above  them,  on  the  rising  grassy  ground 
in  the  center  of  the  settlement,  a  huge  bonfire 
was  still  blazing,  and  the  merrymakers  were 
still  at  their  drinking  and  carousing,  for  their 
songs  and  laughter  floated  down  to  them. 

Some  of  the  men  were  for  going  up  in  a 


A  FRIEND  TO  THE  RESCUE     135 

body,  in  a  sudden  rush,  and  squaring  accounts 
with  the  French  buccaneers,  but  the  wiser 
among  them  prevailed  upon  the  rash. 

Nancy,  having  located  the  position  of  the 
longboat,  ran  up  to  it  and  had  laid  hold  upon 
the  gunwale  when  a  figure,  seated  in  the  shad- 
ows of  the  bow,  rose  with  a  scream  of  surprise. 

Nancy  jumped  back,  her  heart  beating 
wildly;  and  then  she  laughed  and  sprang  for- 
ward eagerly.  It  was  Cherie,  and  with  her,  as 
Nancy  saw  upon  a  closer  look,  her  new-found 
husband,  Bras-de-Mort,  stretched  out  in  the 
bottom  of  the  boat,  his  head  in  her  lap. 

"Pardon  me,  my  friends,"  said  the  girl,  smil- 
ing. "I  did  not  know  I  would  disturb  a  court- 
ing couple  here  at  such  an  hour,  and  right  sorry 
I  am  to  interrupt  you.  But  I  needs  must  have 
your  trysting  place." 

"Have  our  trysting  place!"  cried  Bras-de- 
Mort.  "You  speak  in  riddles,  mademoiselle." 

"Aye,  the  boat — and  urgently  do  I  need  it, 
too." 

"For  what,  mademoiselle?  You  astound 
me." 


136         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

"To  sail  away  in,  to  be  sure.  What  else 
should  I  want  with  a  boat?" 

"Sail  away  in !  Why,  mademoiselle,  the  tide 
has  gone  out  so  far  now  you  could  not  budge 
it." 

"Na'theless,  an'  it  shall  be  budged,  never 
fear.  I  have  turned  loose  the  English  pris- 
oners in  the  fort — and  here  they  come  now." 
And  with  this  up  they  came  in  a  rush,  Bras- 
de-Mort  leaping  to  his  feet  and  putting  him- 
self upon  the  defensive. 

"Nay,  friend,  for  my  sake!"  cried  Cherie, 
laying  her  hand  upon  her  husband's  arm. 
"Desist,  I  pray  you,  and  make  no  alarm.  The 
girl  hath  found  means  to  escape  from  this 
frightful  place,  even  as  you  and  I  but  a  mo- 
ment since  were  wishing  we  might  do." 

"An'  that  be  your  wish,  'tis  easily  enough 
granted,"  said  Nancy.  "For  we  propose  to 
seize  the  ship  and  go  away." 

The  men  had  hurled  themselves  upon  the 
longboat  by  now,  lifting  it  in  their  strong  arms, 
and  they  bore  it  to  the  water  and  launched  it, 
Cherie  in  her  amazement  remaining  still  in  the 


A  FRIEND  TO  THE  RESCUE     137 

bow.  Bras-de-Mort  had  jumped  upon  the 
beach. 

Some  among  the  Englishmen  knew  him,  and 
hailed  him,  and  offered  him  passage  with  them 
did  he  choose  to  go,  seeing  that  he  was  a  friend 
of  the  English  girl. 

Then  they  scrambled  into  the  boat  and  got 
out  the  oars. 

"Be  quick,  my  friends,"  said  Nancy.  "You 
have  but  a  moment  to  make  your  choice." 

"Sacre  bleu!  I  am  a  fatalist,"  said  the 
Frenchman  with  a  shrug,  and  waded  out  to 
shove  off,  as  there  came  from  the  settlement  the 
sound  of  a  shot  and  the  roar  of  men's  voices. 

"Yellow  Eyes  hath  found  a  way  to  give  the 
alarm,"  cried  Nancy,  "or  else  a  spy  hath  come 
down  to  where  we  are  and  disclosed  our  pur- 
pose to  the  rest.  Pull,  men !" 

They  bent  to  the  oars,  and  the  longboat  shot 
down  the  creek  on  the  ebbing  tide,  Bras-de- 
Mort  in  the  stern  where  he  had  hurled  himself 
at  the  first  alarm.  Torches  were  gleaming 
now  among  the  palm-trees,  and  presently  a 
volley  of  musket  balls  whistled  over  their 
heads.  It  was  lighter  over  the  water,  away 


138         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

from  the  shadow  of  the  thick  tropical  forest  of 
the  island,  so  that  they  had  no  difficulty  in  mak- 
ing out  the  ship's  lights.  By  the  time  the  cat- 
tle-hunters on  shore  could  load  their  pieces  and 
fire  again,  they  were  under  her  stern.  Drop- 
ping noiselessly  along  the  ship's  side,  they  made 
fast  at  the  beak-head,  and  so  gained  the  deck 
over  the  forecastle. 

Nancy,  Three-legs  in  her  lap,  felt  herself 
lifted  in  a  pair  of  strong  arms,  so  that  she  was 
able  to  half-push,  half-throw  the  mastiff 
aboard,  and  then,  clambering  up  by  the  main- 
stay and  the  foretacks,  followed  him.  The 
men  did  not  wait  to  go  up  by  the  ladder,  but 
clinging  to  the  scupper-leathers,  dragged  them- 
selves up  in  a  twinkling. 

Two  of  the  watch  came  running  forward, 
aroused  by  all  the  commotion  they  made, 
sleepy-eyed  and  wondering.  They  went  down 
like  ninepins,  and  rolled  into  the  scuppers. 

Nancy,  hearing  at  her  side  the  husky  voice 
which  she  recognized  as  Jim  Rimble's  express- 
ing to  himself  a  doubt  as  to  whether  or  not  he 
would  find  a  bottle  of  brandy,  turned  in  time 
to  see  him  leap  forward  upon  a  familiar  figure. 


A  FRIEND  TO  THE  RESCUE     139 

It  was  Pierre,  the  bushy-bearded  Pierre,  and 
although  she  could  not  see  him  very  clearly  in 
the  darkness,  she  fancied  that  his  little  eyes 
were  blinking  and  snapping  with  a  rapidity  un- 
usual even  for  him. 

She  shouted  out  a  warning  to  him,  and 
Pierre,  recognizing  her  voice  and  comprehend- 
ing at  last  that  the  ship  was  taken,  scuttled 
down  into  the  forecastle,  and  disappeared,  like 
a  frightened  rat. 

Another  volley  rang  out  ashore,  and  they 
could  see  the  flashes  of  fire  from  the  muskets. 
But  they  were  too  far  off  now  to  worry  as  to 
this.  He  of  the  vibrant  voice  hurled  a  dozen 
quick  commands  at  the  men,  who  answered  him 
with  cheery,  "Aye,  aye,  sir." 

"Pass  the  cable  along  aft  there,  boys,"  he 
called  in  the  darkness.  "Walk  it  along! 
Walk  it  along!  Lay  aloft  aft  there,  you  lub- 
bers. Take  the  gaskets  off  those  sails  and  let 
everything  go  by  the  board!  How's  your 
wheel  there,  Mr.  Helmsman?" 

Nancy  and  Barney  sprang  for  the  wheel  and 
put  it  hard  to  port.  Her  stern  came  around  at 
this,  and  the  Baptiste  dropped  down  the  cove 


140         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

on  the  ebbing  tide.  Outside,  clear  of  the  land, 
a  flying,  light  breeze  laid  her  over. 

"What's  the  matter  with  the  old  tub?" 
shouted  the  voice  again.  " She's  as  light  as  an 
empty  jug." 

"All  her  cargo  has  been  unladed,"  Nancy 
called  to  him. 

"I  thought  so.  Boys,  look  alive  now,  I  say, 
you've  got  your  work  cut  out  for  you  this 
night." 

The  last  man  to  come  aboard,  the  fellow  to 
whom  Barney  had  passed  his  knife  on  the  top 
of  the  hill,  had  cut  the  painter  and  set  the  long- 
boat adrift.  A  man  who  had  been  swimming 
in  their  wake  as  they  had  rowed  out  to  the  ship 
came  up  as  the  barkentine  got  under  way,  and, 
grasping  the  trailing  rope-end,  hauled  himself 
aboard.  His  head  showed  for  an  instant 
against  the  skyline  as  he  climbed,  dripping  and 
bedraggled,  over  the  rail,  a  pasty-colored,  al- 
most fleshless  head,  like  a  raw  skull,  in  which 
i 

two  eyes  gleamed  as  brilliantly  as  burnished 
gold. 

"Look,  Barney!  See  there!"  whispered 
Nancy. 


A  FRIEND  TO  THE  RESCUE  141 

\ 

"Faith!  Let  me  go  and  pitch  him  over- 
board," he  answered  softly,  while  the  hair  on 
Three-legs'  neck  bristled,  as  he  growled  and 
showed  his  fangs. 

"Let  him  be,  lad,"  advised  the  girl.  "We 
shall  know  how  to  attend  to  his  case  later 
on.  I  would  not  take  a  human  life  but  to  save 
my  own,  or  my  country." 

She  stayed  the  Irish  boy  with  a  hand  upon 
his  sleeve,  and  Barney,  who  was  neither  a 
prophet  nor  the  son  of  a  prophet,  put  his  pistol 
back  into  his  shirt.  So  Yellow  Eyes  went  in 
peace,  slinking  along  the  deck,  and  dived  into 
the  forward  scuttle,  and  they  stood  there  and 
let  him  pass.  And  neither  of  them  knew  what 
they  had  done  that  night. 


CHAPTER  IX 
A  BAD  NIGHT'S  WORK 

The  clouds  which  had  covered  the  moon  and 
all  the  stars,  and  screened  their  escape  under  a 
mantle  of  black,  now  came  rolling  up  out  of 
the  northeast  more  thickly  than  ever,  and  with 
incredible  swiftness,  hanging  so  low  that  they 
seemed  to  engulf  the  whole  ship,  blotting  her 
out  from  all  the  rest  of  the  world.  And  the 
wind  moaned  a  mournful  croon  in  the  rigging. 

The  maintopsail  was  split  to  ribbons  almost 
before  they  had  it  bent,  and,  wet  with  the  rain 
which  now  came  down  in  a  solid  wall  of  water, 
flapped  with  a  deep-toned  wail,  tugging  to  get 
clear  of  the  groaning  yard,  till  finally  it  was 
carried  away.  Above  the  roar  of  the  squall 
which  seemed  at  any  moment  like  to  send  the 
ship  on  her  beam's  end,  Nancy  could  hear  the 
resolute  voice  of  her  countryman  shouting  or- 
ders to  the  men,  who  obeyed  his  commands  as 

if  they  had  been  accustomed  to  do  it.     She 

142 


A  BAD  NIGHT'S  WORK         143 

wondered  if  he  was  their  captain,  but  of  this 
she  could  not  be  sure. 

She  and  Barney  clung  to  the  helm,  but  she 
felt  that  their  strength  was  inadequate,  and 
was  about  to  shout  for  help,  when  she  felt  a 
strong  hand  close  over  hers,  and  heard  a  voice 
out  of  the  darkness  saying — 

"Well  done,  Devon!" 

And  then  the  vaulted  dome  of  night  was  split 
from  zenith  to  horizon,  and  in  that  vivid  in- 
stant, when  it  seemed  as  if  the  door  of  Heaven 
had  been  opened  wide  to  show  the  flaming 
glories  of  eternity  itself,  she  saw  him  as  he 
really  was,  for  the  first  time,  standing  there 
on  the  gale-swept  deck,  a  big  blond  giant  of  a 
young  man,  a  weather-beaten,  storm-soaked 
Saxon,  with  a  stubby  growth  of  yellow  beard 
and  a  great  shock  of  tawny  hair  matted  upon 
his  head,  and  the  blue  eyes  of  a  Viking.  As 
the  thunder  fell  upon  them  with  a  concussion 
that  made  the  Baptiste  tremble  in  every  plank, 
darkness  again,  darkness  so  thick  it  crushed 
with  its  tremendous  weight. 

She  felt  the  light  bark  stagger  beneath  her 
as  it  was  lifted  upon  the  crest  of  a  mighty  wave, 


144         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

and  shiver  again,  and  sigh  and  groan  in  its 
extremity  as  it  slanted  down  into  the  trough 
of  the  boiling  -sea,  rail  under  water  and  the 
decks  awash.  God's  mighty  voice  spoke  again 
across  the  world,  and  a  flood  of  brilliance, 
brighter  than  a  lifetime  of  days,  deluged  them 
with  a  celestial  radiance.  She  saw  the  boy 
at  her  side  clinging  to  the  helm  with  all  his 
strength,  his  freckled  face  gone  pale  as  death 
and  glistening  with  the  spume,  only  the  red  rag 
of  his  tongue,  curling  out  of  the  corner  of  his 
hard-set  mouth,  making  him  look  like  his  nat- 
ural self.  Beyond  him  the  round-house  cov- 
ered with  debris,  the  canvas  struggling  to  be 
free,  and  the  men  lying  out  on  the  yards,  and 
beyond  all  a  waste  of  frantic  water,  moun- 
tain high,  a  seething  caldron  of  waves,  their 
tops  torn  off  by  the  hurricane  and  flung  about 
as  by  a  giant  madman. 

The  awful  grandeur  of  it  brought  a  gasp 
to  her  lips,  a  cry  more  of  astonishment  and 
wonder  than  of  fear.  The  Baptiste  reeled, 
throwing  her  off  her  feet,  but  she  did  not  fall. 
A  strong  arm  encircled  her  waist,  and  she  was 
in  the  arms  of  the  man  she  did  not  know,  lying 


A  BAD  NIGHT'S  WORK          145 

against  his  breast  with  great  content.  She 
felt  her  cheek,  as  he  bent  down  to  her,  touch  his 
own,  and  suddenly,  as  another  tear  of  flame 
shot  across  the  sky,  their  lips  met  while  they 
looked  into  each  other's  eyes. 

How  long  she  lay  there  upon  his  brawny 
chest  she  did  not  know,  nor  did  she  ever  know. 
Hours — weeks — months !  It  seemed  to  Nancy 
as  though  she  had  been  there  in  his  arms  all  her 
life,  forever  and  ever,  when,  finally,  she  pulled 
herself  away  from  him,  all  the  blood  in  her 
body  so  hot  and  eager  for  something  new  that 
had  come  into  her  life  that  she  dared  not  look 
at  him  again. 

Two  of  the  mariners  had  come  to  the  wheel, 
and  the  Devon  man,  in  the  voice  that  thrilled 
her  whenever  he  spoke,  was  giving  orders  as 
calmly  as  though  he  had  been  a  bargeman  on 
the  Thames,  on  a  quiet  Sunday  afternoon. 

"Cut  all  her  lee  fore-rigging,"  he  roared 
against  the  tumult  of  the  storm.  "Cut  the 
mainto'mast  and  mizzen  lee-rigging.  Now 
lay  to  windward.  Look  lively  there,  you  old 
standers !  Cut  all  your  weather  fore-rigging." 

The  men  leaped  at  his  bidding,  with  their 


146         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

axes,  and  with  this  the  foremast  went  by  the 
board,  and  took  with  it  the  main  topmast  and 
mizzen  topmast.  The  wreckage  cleared  the 
ship,  with  a  little  quick  work,  and  was  soon 
astern.  The  Baptiste  righted  herself.  Much 
of  the  canvas  on  the  main  and  mizzen  had 
blown  itself  out  of  the  bolt-ropes.  The  men 
at  the  wheel  kept  her  dead  before  it  until  they 
began  to  cut  away,  and  then  they  let  her  come 
to  a  couple  of  points. 

With  the  coming  of  the  first  faint  streaks  of 
dawn  they  made  their  way  into  the  great  cabin, 
and  the  Devon  man,  as  Nancy  called  him  to 
herself,  went  off  to  search  for  a  ship's  biscuit, 
and  came  back  empty-handed,  with  a  face  that 
was  very  grave,  although  he  tried  to  conceal 
from  her  the  alarm  that  he  felt.  The  ship  was 
laboring  less  now,  and  the  fury  of  the  storm  » 
abating  considerably.  The  sun  came  up  in  an 
almost  cloudless  sky,  with  the  bosom  of  the 
Caribbean  undulating  in  long,  easy  swells  of 
turquoise  blue. 

They  dried  their  clothes  by  walking  on  the 
deck,  with  Three-legs,  who  had  come  up  from 
some  retreat  in  the  hold  where  he  had  saga- 


A  BAD  NIGHT'S  WORK         147 

ciously  stowed  himself,  barking  and  whining  at 
their  side.  But  especially  did  he  whine,  and 
growl,  too,  when  they  walked  forward.  Then 
he  would  scratch  grotesquely  with  his  one  fore- 
paw  at  the  forward  hatch,  uttering  sharp,  ex- 
cited yelps. 

Barney  gave  Nancy  a  sidelong  glance  full 
of  meaning,  but  the  girl  placed  her  finger 
against  her  lips  and  nodded  to  him  to  be  si- 
lent. The  hatch  had  been  battened  down,  and 
she  judged  that  Yellow  Eyes  would  be  safer 
for  a  while  where  he  was  than  on  deck. 

The  ship  was  a  derelict,  her  masts  carried 
away,  with  scarce  a  spar  left  large  enough  to 
rig  into  a  jury  mast.  Nancy  and  Barney,  with 
the  dog,  walked  aft  through  the  wreckage  with 
which  the  decks  were  strewn,  and  the  girl  be- 
gan to  consider  the  situation  in  which  she 
found  herself.  The  mission  upon  which  her 
father  and  Sidney  had  sent  her  was  as  fresh 
in  her  mind  as  it  had  been  on  the  night  she  had 
quit  their  lodgings  in  Lille ;  and  she  still  hoped, 
with  the  buoyancy  of  youth,  that  she  would  be 
able,  somehow,  some  way,  she  did  not  know 
how,  to  get  to  London  in  time  to  give,  to  those 


148          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

who  could  use  it  for  the  cause,  the  secret  in- 
formation which  she  had  been  charged  to  im- 
part. 

The  Devon  man  and  Jim  Rimble  had  gone 
below.  The  former  now  came  back  to  where 
she  and  Barney  stood,  and  she  saw  by  the  look 
in  his  eyes  that  he  was  anxious. 

"What  is  it,  my  friend?"  she  asked.  "I 
see  by  your  face  that  you  are  sorely  troubled." 

"I  may  as  well  tell  you,"  he  answered. 
"For,  although  I  would  spare  you  if  I  could, 
God  knows  'tis  not  a  thing  that  can  be  con- 
cealed. We  are  in  a  bad  way.  The  old  tub 
has  strained  her  seams,  and  we  are  half  full  of 
water.  That  is  why  we  ride  more  easily  now. 
For  another  thing,  there  isn't  a  mouthful  of 
food  aboard.  Cleaned  out,  she  is — not  a  speck 
of  grub.  And  I  warrant  you  we  have  made 
good  search.  We  have  come  to  sea  in  our 
coffin,  I  greatly  fear  me." 

"It  cannot  be  as  bad  as  that."  Nancy 
smiled,  and  touched  him  lightly  on  the  arm. 
"I  am  sure  you  will  find  a  way  out  of  our 
difficulties." 

"How?"  he  asked,  shortly. 


A  BAD  NIGHT'S  WORK         149 

"Why,  we  can  sail  back  to  Tortuga,  if  the 
worst  comes  to  the  worst,"  interjected  Barney 
hopefully.  "There's  plenty  of  grub  there — 
roast  ox,  and  everything." 

"Sail!"  he  cried.  "What  with,  lad?  Can 
you  hold  your  'kerchief  to  catch  a  breeze? 
No,  I  tell  you,  here  we  rot.  Forgive  me,"  he 
added  quickly,  turning  to  Nancy.  "I  do  not 
mean  to  frighten  you,  but  our  condition  is  in- 
deed desperate.  And  here  come  the  men!  I 
fear  I  shall  have  mutiny  on  my  hands.  Have 
you  the  pistol,  lad?  It  is  all  the  weapon  we 
have,  for  the  musket  has  been  broken  in  the 
descent  of  the  cliff." 

Barney,  with  a  sigh  and  a  groan,  surren- 
dered the  pistol  which  he  took  from  his  shirt, 
and  the  Devon  man  put  it  into  his  pocket,  an 
act  that  did  not  escape  the  notice  of  the  men, 
who  now  came  trooping  down,  menacingly,  to 
the  rail  of  the  quarterdeck,  Jim  Rimble  at  their 
head. 

The  Devon  man  let  his  eye  rove  over  them, 
saying  not  a  word,  at  first.  Then — 

"Well,  men?" 

"A  fine  mess  you  have  got  us  into,  me  and 


150         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

my  mates,  we're  thinking,  sir,"  said  Rimble, 
after  an  awkward  pause. 

There  was  a  shuffling  of  uneasy  feet  and 
the  bobbing  of  many  heads. 

"I  have  got  you  into?"  demanded  the  De- 
von man. 

"You,  and  the  wench  from  Devonshire,  that 
is." 

"Oh,  as  to  that,  I  take  the  blame,  if  blame 
there  be.  But  did  I  drag  you  out  of  your 
prison?  Did  you  not  come  willingly  enough, 
to  take  the  ship  at  the  risk  of  your  necks,  if 
need  be?" 

"Well,  then,  as  to  that,  sir,  we  would  have 
been  glad  enough  to  go  under  in  a  free  fight 
— but  this  is  different." 

"Different?  How  different?  Can  a  man 
die  more  than  once?  Come,  men,  have  done 
with  complaints  and  keep  your  upper  lips  stiff. 
We'll  get  out  of  this.  Do  you  fall  to  now 
and  build  up  a  longboat  out  of  the  planks  of 
the  ship.  I  put  you  on  a  pint  of  water  a  day 
— 'tis  all  we  have  in  the  butts,  but  enough  to 
last  for  three  days.  And  in  three  days  much 
may  happen." 


A  BAD  NIGHT'S  WORK         151 

The  men  brightened  up  a  bit  at  this,  and 
some  of  them  moved  off  as  if  to  begin  the  work 
he  had  set  them  to.  But  Rimble  pulled  at  his 
forelock  and  rolled  his  eyes.  Finally  he  stam- 
mered— 

"My  belly  roars  for  victuals." 

There  was  a  laugh  at  this,  in  which  Nancy 
joined.  But  it  was  a  laugh  that  died  away 
quickly. 

"Well,  now,  as  to  that,  we're  all  in  the 
same  boat,  so  to  speak,  Jim  Rimble,  and  you 
are  not  a  whit  more  hungry  than  am  I,  but 
I  hope  I  know  how  to  tighten  my  belt  a  notch  or 
two.  It  isn't  as  if  we  had  been  living  on  the 
fat  of  the  land  for  the  past  God  knows  how 
long  in  d'Ogeron's  cursed  dungeon.  As  for 
that,  Jim  Rimble,  you  have  ever  bragged  what 
angler  thou  art.  Show  some  of  these  men  how 
to  rig  up  a  line  or  two,  and  perhaps  we  can  have 
a  fish  for  dinner.  But  whether  we  do  or  not, 
know  ye,  men,  the  first  one  among  you  who 
attempts  violence — him  will  I  pistol  with  my 
own  hand.  Now  get  to  work!" 

The  men  turned  away  at  this,  sullenly 
enough,  some  of  them,  but  presently,  what  with 


152          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

the  fishing  operations  that  began,  or  the  inter- 
est that  work  arouses  in  even  the  most  down- 
cast of  men,  some  of  the  lighter  hearted  began 
to  whistle,  and  in  ten  minutes  Jim  Rimble  him- 
self, his  face  all  sunshine  again,  was  barelegged 
on  the  rail,  a  pipe  between  his  teeth  and  the 
end  of  a  line  in  his  hand,  the  while  he  sang 
between  puffs : 

"I  loved  a  lass,  a  fair  one ! 

As  fair  as  e'er  was  seen; 
She  was  indeed  a  rare  one, 
Another  Sheba's  Queen ! 
But  fool  as  then  I  was, 

I  thought  she  loved  me  too ! 
But  now,  alas,  she  has  left  me. 
Falero,  lero,  loo!" 

Some  among  them  were  carpenters,  and 
soon  the  saw  and  the  hammer  were  singing  a 
merry  tune  which  all  but  drowned  out  Jim 
Rimble's  ditty.  Nancy  and  Barney  leaned 
over  the  bulwarks  at  his  side. 

"What  bait  do  you  use,  Master  Rimble?" 
asked  the  girl,  smiling. 

"A  bit  of  a  crab's  claw,  miss,"  replied  the 
sailor,  pulling  at  his  forelock  and  giving  her 


A  BAD  NIGHT'S  WORK          153 

boys'  breeches  and  loose  canvas  shirt  a  side- 
long glance,  as  if  to  say  that  he  didn't  know 
rightly  whether  she  deserved  that  feminine 
designation  or  not,  but  would  follow  the  cap- 
tain's example. 

The  gay  apparel  in  which  Mistress  Chilling- 
worth  had  quit  Lille,  the  crimson  stockings,  the 
new  short  coat,  brilliant  with  ribbons,  had  long 
since  succumbed  to  hard  usage,  and  she  had 
picked  up  on  shipboard  a  nondescript  outfit, 
loose,  rough  cotton,  stained  and  threadbare. 
The  sleeves  of  her  jacket  reached  but  to  the 
elbow.  Her  limbs  were  bare  to  the  knee,  and 
her  shapely  legs  and  arms  were  as  brown  as 
sun  and  wind  and  weather  could  make  them. 
Her  hair  was  gathered  beneath  a  brimless  cap 
which  she  had  found  upon  the  beach  at  Tor- 
tuga.  About  her  throat  was  knotted  a  bit  of 
scarlet  silk  which  set  off  the  rich  color  of  her 
sunburned  face. 

"Crab's  claw,  Master  Rimble?  Why,  'tis 
a  very  proper  lure  to  be  sure." 

"I  wish  I  had  known  you  had  it,"  cried  Bar- 
ney. "I  warrant  you  no  fish  would  have  been 
smelling  at  my  supper  now." 


154         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

"Never  fear,  lad — if  it  had  been  any  good 
I'd  have  gulped  it  myself,"  said  Rimble,  wag- 
ging his  head  solemnly.  "I'm  hungrier  than 
any  fish  that  ever  wiggled  a  tail.  It  was  a 
dead  crab,  blown  aboard  during  the  storm.  I 
found  it  yonder  in  the  scuppers,  or  rather  the 
three-legged  dog  did.  It  would  have  been 
good  enough  for  him,  but  I  had  other  plans 
for  that  bit  of  crab.  Now  if  there's  a  fish  in 
these  parts,  why,  miss,  I'll  have  him." 

"I'll  warrant  you  will,  Master  Rimble.  I 
can  see  with  half  an  eye  that  you  are  a  fisher- 
man." 

Jim  Rimble's  rugged,  weather-beaten  face 
glowed  with  the  honest  pride  that  appreciated 
genius  ever  feels,  and  he  had  opened  his  mouth 
to  acknowledge  the  compliment  when  there 
came  a  tug  at  the  line,  and  he  stiffened  as  one 
transfixed.  Into  his  eyes  flamed  the  light  of  a 
passion  that  is  almost  holy.  Gingerly  he  be- 
gan to  haul  away  at  the  cord,  softly,  gently, 
hand  over  hand.  His  body  trembled  with  eag- 
erness. Slowly,  then,  the  expression  upon  his 
face  changed,  apprehension,  doubt,  fear — con- 
viction. 


A  BAD  NIGHT'S  WORK         155 

"I  had  a  bite,"  he  said  dolefully.  "But  he 
got  away." 

The  line  sank  down  into  the  water  again,  and 
he  sat  once  more  dejectedly,  the  personifica- 
tion of  sorrow. 

"I  think,"  suggested  Nancy  hopefully,  "that 
maybe  you  forgot  to  bless  the  bait." 

"What,  miss?" 

"Bless  the  bait." 

He  rolled  his  eyes  at  her  and  wagged  his 
head. 

"Why,  to  be  sure,  you  must  always  anoint 
the  bait,"  explained  Nancy.  "Don't  you  know 
what  the  saying  is : 

"Take  gum  of  life,  fine  beat,  and  laid  in  soak 
In  oil,  well  drawn  from  that  which  kills  the  oak." 

"Never  heard  tell  on  it,  miss,"  said  Jim 
Rimble.  "But  then,"  he  added,  "it  wouldn't 
do  any  good  anyhow.  I  ain't  got  any  gum  of 
life,  and,  if  I  had  a  barrel  of  it,  there  ain't  any 
oil  aboard  but  sperm  oil,  and  that  wouldn't  kill 
an  oak,  would  it?  No,  miss,  there  ain't  but 
one  way  to  catch  fish,  asking  your  pardon — 
get  something  they  like  and  go  where  they  is." 


156         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

With  this  he  hauled  in  his  line  and  moved 
off  to  try  his  luck  in  some  more  likely  place. 

That  afternoon  Jim  Rimble  worked  his  way 
around  the  ship.  He  fished  from  the  stern 
and  from  the  bow,  and  from  the  waist,  too. 
He  tried  all  the  places  and  found  each  more 
discouraging  than  the  other.  Above  the  noise 
of  the  carpenters  his  plaintive  voice  arose  all 
day: 

"In  Summer  time,  to  Medley 
My  Love  and  I  would  go; 
The  boatman  there  stood  ready 

My  Love  and  I  to  row. 
For  cream  there  would  be  call, 
For  cakes  and  for  prunes  too, 
But  now,  alas,  she  has  left  me. 
Falero,  lero,  loo!" 

Meanwhile  the  men,  half-mad  with  thirst 
and  hunger,  fell  at  the  task  of  ship-building 
with  an  energy  that  showed  how  keenly  they 
realized  the  position  they  were  in.  Under  so 
many  hands  the  longboat  grew  as  by  magic. 
The  Devon  man  himself  drew  the  rude  plans  of 
her,  and  they  shaped  her  out  according  to  his 
directions.  She  was  forty  feet  long.  One  of 
the  spars  that  had  not  carried  away  was  fitted 


A  BAD  NIGHT'S  WORK         157 

to  be  her  mast,  and  the  sailmakers  busied  them- 
selves about  the  sails,  the  stay-sheet  and  hal- 
yard and  all  the  necessary  rigging. 

The  casks  containing  their  small  supply  of 
water  had  been  brought  up  by  the  captain's 
orders  into  the  round-house,  which  he  then 
barricaded.  At  noon  a  gill  of  water  was  doled 
out  to  each  man,  the  captain  standing  guard 
over  the  butts  with  Barney's  pistol  in  his  hand. 

There  was  grumbling,  but  no  man  sought 
to  take  by  force  more  than  his  proper  share. 
They  went  back  to  their  work  sullenly,  low- 
spirited,  some  of  them  suffering  acutely,  as 
their  feverish  lips  and  eyes  all  too  plainly 
showed. 

All  next  day  Jim  Rimble  fished  assiduously, 
successfully  evading  the  duties  of  ship-building 
on  the  plea  that  he  was  busily  engaged  furnish- 
ing food  for  the  crew.  Contemptuous  remarks 
to  the  effect  that  he  was  as  poor  a  singer  as  he 
was  an  angler  failed  to  disturb  the  serenity  of 
his  soul.  At  frequent  intervals  he  would  burst 
into  song: 

"Like  doves  we  would  be  billing, 
And  clip  and  kiss  so  fast ! 


158         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

Yet  she  would  be  unwilling 
That  I  should  kiss  the  last. 

They're  Judas  kisses  now ! 
Since  that  they  proved  untrue. 

For  now,  alas,  she  has  left  me. 
Falero,  lero,  loo !" 

Nancy  and  Barney  worked  with  the  rest, 
fetching  and  carrying  for  the  men.  And  the 
captain,  as  she  called  him,  was  worth  a  dozen 
what  with  the  wisdom  of  his  advice,  the  brawn 
of  his  mighty  arms,  and  the  encouragement 
that  he  gave  to  them. 

The  three  of  them  had  drawn  away  from 
the  others  for  a  spell  of  rest  in  the  shadow 
of  the  round-house,  or  great  cabin,  when  there 
was  a  commotion  forward,  and  Jim  Rimble's 
voice  bellowing: 

"I've  got  him!  I've  got  him!  He's  a 
whale!"  And  then,  as  they  started  down  the 
deck  on  the  run,  "Sail  ho !" 

"Where  away?"  shouted  the  Devon  man. 

"Dead  ahead,  sir." 

"What  do  you  make  her  out  ?" 

"Can't  say  yet,  sir." 

The  men  dropped  their  work,  and  rushed 


A  BAD  NIGHT'S  WORK         159 

pell-mell  to  the  forecastle.  Away  off  to  the 
west,  so  low  down  that  she  could  scarcely  be 
seen,  they  made  out  the  topsails  of  a  ship. 
But  what  manner  of  ship  she  was  none  could 
tell. 

The  men  lined  the  storm-shattered  bulwarks, 
their  eyes  alight  with  eagerness.  Jim  Rimble's 
fish,  in  the  excitement,  made  its  escape.  He 
went  from  group  to  group,  bemoaning  his  ill 
luck  and  describing  the  size  and  beauty  of  the 
prize  which  had  eluded  him  at  last. 

"Now,  lads,"  cried  the  captain,  "don't  stand 
gaping  there  as  if  you'd  never  seen  a  to'gal- 
lants'l  before.  .  Is  this  the  time  to  idle,  with  a 
fine  ship  coming  up  and  the  longboat  not  yet 
ready  to  go  over  the  side  ?" 

Nancy  saw  a  glance  full  of  meaning  pass 
between  the  men,  but  its  significance  she  did 
not  fathom  then.  The  men  did,  however,  and 
back  they  went,  tumbling  aft  so  eagerly  that 
they  fairly  fell  over  each  other  in  their  haste; 
and  presently  the  noisy  ship-building  chorus 
rose  again,  the  clang  of  hammer  and  anvil. 
Jim  Rimble,  the  great  angler,  joined  his  ship- 


160          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

mates  for  the  first  time  that  day,  and  stepped 
the  mast  himself,  his  husky  voice  rising  above 
the  music  of  tools  and  timber : 

"  'Twas  I  that  paid  for  all  things, 
'Twas  others  drank  the  wine! 
I  cannot,  now,  recall  things; 

Live  but  a  fool,  to  pine. 
'Twas  I  that  beat  the  bush; 

The  bird  to  others  flew, 

For  she,  alas,  hath  left  me. 

Falero,  lero,  loo !" 

There  was  no  grumbling,  no  lack  of  energy 
now.  The  men  worked  like  demons,  as  if  their 
lives  depended  upon  their  exertions,  as,  indeed, 
they  knew  very  well  they  did.  Before  the  dark 
night  of  the  tropics  suddenly  dropped  upon 
them,  they  had  finished  her. 

She  was  rough,  but  the  captain,  who  had 
superintended  the  work,  was  satisfied.  Nancy, 
no  mean  expert  herself,  by  reason  of  her  long 
association  with  ship-builders  when  she  was 
a  child  in  Plymouth,  inspected  it  with  a  criti- 
cism that  won  the  admiration  of  the  men.  She 
had  wanted  to  tell  the  captain  how  she  approved 
of  his  design  and  the  skilful  workmanship,  but 
there  was  a  reserve  in  his  manner  towards 


A  BAD  NIGHT'S  WORK          161 

her  now  that  made  her  avoid  him.  He  did 
not  return  again  to  the  incident  of  the  night 
they  had  left  the  island,  when  he  had  held  her 
in  his  arms  on  the  storm-swept  deck,  but  she 
knew  that  never  would  she  forget  his  kiss  as 
long  as  she  might  live. 

To  a  Puritan  girl,  reared  as  she  had  been, 
such  a  caress  could  mean  but  one  thing.  He 
loved  her.  Therefore,  she  would  be  his  wife. 
She  had  decided  that  irrevocably  when  he  had 
pressed  her  to  his  breast  against  the  fury  of 
the  hurricane.  As  for  that,  she  had  resolved 
it  in  her  mind  that  she  should  wed  him  when 
first  she  had  heard  his  deep,  vibrant  voice  an- 
swering her  call  in  the  dungeon  of  d'Ogeron's 
castle,  before  she  had  seen  him,  even  faintly 
in  the  darkness,  before  she  had  looked  upon  his 
face  in  the  storm  in  that  first  flood  of  radiance 
from  on  high. 

But  while  her  heart  was  won,  and  she  made 
no  concealment  of  it  to  her  conscience,  she  had 
determined  that  she  herself  would  not  be  ligMy 
taken.  All  the  suppressed  romanticism  of  her 
nature,  the  part  of  her  handed  down  from  some 
ancestor  who  had  played  his  part  upon  the 


1 62          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

stage  before  the  gloom  of  Puritanism  had  en- 
gulfed so  large  a  part  of  England,  that  had  not 
been  crushed  out  by  the  strictness  of  her  re- 
ligious training  and  the  simplicity  of  her  life 
among  the  followers  of  the  Protector,  was 
awakening  under  the  magic  touch  of  love. 

She  was  alive,  for  the  first  time  in  her  life, 
her  blood  ran  faster  through  her  veins,  her 
soft  eyes  had  taken  on  a  luster  they  had  not 
known  before.  She  had  become  a  woman  in 
that  one  great  instant  when  Heaven  itself 
had  been  rent  in  twain  by  God's  thunderbolt  to 
show  her  the  glories  of  Paradise. 

Without  deliberately  becoming  a  coquette, 
for  there  was  something  in  her  soul  too  simple 
and  sincere  for  that,  she  had  determined  to  keep 
this  young  sea-captain  at  his  distance  until  she 
chose,  when  he  had  earned  the  boon,  to  take 
him  into  her  heart.  She  could  not  now  be  sure 
whether  he  avoided  her,  or  seemed  to  avoid 
her,  because  she  had  first  shown  an  indiffer- 
ence to  him,  or  whether  it  began  with  him. 

Doubt  as  to  this  first  found  lodgment  in  her 
mind  late  in  the  afternoon,  but  the  excitement 
incident  to  the  sighting  of  the  ship  and  the  hur- 


A  BAD  NIGHT'S  WORK         163 

ried  completion  of  the  longboat  drove  what 
resentment  she  might  have  felt  away.  She 
was  a  girl  once  more,  as  eager  for  the  rescue 
now  at  hand,  as  Barney  himself. 

Barney  was  one  broad  grin  from  ear  to  ear 
at  the  prospect  of  getting  something  to  eat, 
for  he,  like  Nancy,  made  no  doubt  that  in  a  few 
hours  at  most  they  would  be  picked  up.  Cherie 
and  Bras-de-Mort,  after  the  manner  of  newly 
married  folk,  had  kept  much  to  themselves  all 
day  long.  During  the  storm  the  little  Pari- 
sienne  had  remained  terrified  in  the  round- 
house, where  her  husband  had  placed  her,  and 
although  he  had  himself  rendered  his  share  of 
service  in  handling  the  ship  during  the  fright- 
ful gale,  or  hurricane,  through  which  they  had 
passed,  he  evidently  considered  himself  above 
ship-building,  or  else  felt  himself  incompetent 
to  join  in  that  labor,  for  he  had  spent  his  time 
at  Cherie's  side,  as  attentive  as  any  courtier. 

To  be  sure,  he  had  busied  himself  with  the 
repair  of  the  musket  which  Nancy  had  brought 
away  from  the  castle,  and  which  had  been 
broken  in  the  confusion  of  the  escape,  but  while 
this  might  not  have  been  considered  a  full  and 


1 64         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

generous  participation  in  the  general  work,  un- 
der the  circumstances,  seeing  that  his  efforts 
were  fruitless,  and  the  musket  remained  as  use- 
less when  he  had  expended  his  energies  upon 
it  as  it  had  been  before  he  began  his  tinkering, 
the  men  good-naturedly  winked  at  what  in 
another,  with  the  exception  of  Jim  Rimble, 
the  fisherman,  would  have  been  resented  as 
shirking.  At  the  capstan,  abaft  the  mainmast, 
he  made  a  little  awning  to  protect  her  from  the 
sun,  and  here  ensconced  her  upon  a  chest  as  if 
she  had  been  a  queen  upon  her  throne.  Here 
he  sat  by  her  side,  or  sprawled  lazily  at  her 
feet. 

Two  lovers,  thrown  together  by  the  hand 
of  fate  and  set  down,  man  and  wife,  on  the 
shattered  wreckage  of  a  ship  that  was  like  to 
part  them  as  suddenly  as  they  had  been  made 
one!  Nancy,  knowing  how  much  these  two 
derelicts  would  find  to  talk  about,  the  questions 
they  would  ask  as  each  probed  the  history  of 
the  other,  forebore  to  intrude  upon  their  pri- 
vacy. 

The  excitement  over  the  sighting  of  the 
strange  sail  scarcely  disturbed  them.  They 


A  BAD  NIGHT'S  WORK         165 

joined  the  noisy,  breathless  throng  at  the  rail 
for  a  few  minutes,  and  then  returned  to  their 
bower,  arm  in  arm. 

As  the  sail  rose  higher  and  higher  above  the 
vast  expanse  of  tumbling  sea,  the  men  specu- 
lated among  themselves  as  to  what  she  would 
prove  to  be.  Now  and  then  one  of  them  would 
leave  the  busy  group  gathered  around  the  long- 
boat and  take  a  squint  at  her  as  she  came  up, 
which  she  did  slowly  enough. 

Towards  evening,  just  before  night  settled 
down  around  them,  and  the  brilliant  tropic 
stars  were  lighted  in  the  casements  of  Heaven, 
Bras-de-Mort,  tearing  himself  away  from  his 
bride  for  a  moment,  joined  the  exhausted  men, 
now  laying  down  their  tools,  and  waving  his 
arm  off  towards  where  the  last  faint  beams  of 
the  sinking  sun  had  shown  the  stranger  to 
be,  shook  his  head  dubiously. 

"We  shall  miss  her,  after  all,  monsieurs," 
said  he. 

"Why,  how  now,  Master  Bras-de-Mort?" 
asked  the  captain. 

"She's  ca'med  off,  sir,"  interjected  Jim  Rim- 
ble. 


166         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

Bras-de-Mort  shrugged  his  shoulders  by  way 
of  assent. 

"And  by  morning,  when  it  freshens,  she'll 
like  as  not  be  off  upon  another  tack,  and  then, 
adieu!"  he  finshed. 

"Right  you  are!"  cried  the  captain.  "Men, 
we  must  put  some  oars  into  the  longboat.  If 
the  ship  can't  come  to  us,  we  must  go  to  her. 
Fall  too,  you  sea  dogs,  and  turn  us  out  some 
oars.  But  first,  we'll  have  another  pull  at  the 
water  butts." 

He  doled  out  a  dish  of  water  to  every  man, 
and  they  drank  their  scanty  portions  and  eyed 
the  casks  from  which  it  came.  But  the  cap- 
tain stood  guard  over  them,  and  cursing  their 
luck  they  went  back  to  the  new  task  he  had  laid 
out  for  them. 

The  brilliant  equatorial  moon  gave  them  all 
the  light  they  needed,  and  the  heat  was  less 
intense  now,  so  that  they  managed  well  enough. 
At  the  completion  of  the  work  he  told  off  the 
watch,  and  the  rest  threw  themselves  exhausted 
to  the  deck,  and  were  soon  snoring.  Nancy 
lay  down,  but,  although  she  was  tired  and  real- 


A  BAD  NIGHT'S  WORK         167 

ized  for  the  first  time  how  much  she  had  been 
through  during  the  preceding  forty-eight 
hours,  she  found  it  impossible  to  sleep.  Her 
head  pillowed  upon  the  broad  back  of  Three- 
legs,  she  lay  there  gazing  upward  at  the  stars 
— and  dreaming,  wide-eyed,  such  dreams  as 
young  girls  dream. 

Not  for  a  long  time  did  she  float  off  in  the 
land  of  real  dreams;  but  she  slept  at  last,  and 
the  dreams  continued,  and  he  came  to  her, 
down  the  path  through  the  meadow  back  home 
in  Devon,  the  meadow  that  ran  down  to  the 
sea,  along  the  road  where  the  sailors  passed 
on  their  way  to  the  ships,  with  their  bundles  on 
their  backs.  And  he  took  her  by  the  arm, 
gently,  and  said  in  a  whisper — 

"Follow  me." 

So  she  got  up  quickly,  rubbing  her  eyes  then, 
for  they  were  heavy  with  sleep,  and  followed 
him,  down  the  deck  to  the  waist  of  the  ship, 
where  the  men  were  gathered  about  the  long- 
boat. It  was  midnight.  The  sea  lay  as  calm 
as  the  air  above  it,  and  a  great  silence  that  was 
almost  uncanny  brooded  over  them,  a  silence 


i68          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

so  deep  and  solemn  and  mysterious,  that  the 
men  seemed  afraid  to  break  it,  and  talked  in 
whispers  among  themselves. 

"Now,  lads,"  said  the  captain,  "we're  down 
to  the  last  cask  of  water.  There's  to  be  a 
swig  for  every  soul,  and  the  balance  goes  with 
me  aft  in  the  boat  here,  to  stand  us  against 
the  time  we  shall  need  it  more,  if  we  should 
miss  the  Don  in  the  dark." 

There  was  a  shuffling  of  feet  and  a  grumble 
or  two.  Then  the  water  was  passed  out,  to 
each  man  a  dishful,  barely  enough  to  wet  their 
dusty  palates. 

"I  could  drink,"  said  Jim  Rimble  huskily, 
"I  could  drink  a  bar'l  o'  it.  Yea,  mates,  I 
could  drink  all  the  water  that  there's  in  this 
here  barkentine  down  below,  if  'twas  fresh, 
mind  ye.  I  could  drink,  I  could  drink,  right 
now,  if  I  had  the  chance,  I  say,  I  could  drink 
all  the  water  that  there's  in  the  Thames  at 
Lambeth." 

"If  thou  didst  work  thy  tongue  less,  thou 
wouldst  not  be  so  dry,  Jim  Rimble,"  interrupted 
the  Captain.  "Lay  ahold  of  the  boat  now, 
lads,  and  walk  her  down.  Bear  a  hand  with 


A  BAD  NIGHT'S  WORK         169 

the  axe  there,  Jim  Rimble,  and  cut  away.  All 
together  now,  lads.  Walk  her  along!" 

They  eased  the  longboat  to  the  bulwarks, 
and,  cutting  a  great  hole  there,  launched  her, 
so  that  she  slid  with  scarcely  a  ripple  into  the 
sea.  The  men  armed  themselves  with  capstan 
bars  and  axes,  there  being  no  other  weapons 
aboard  the  Baptiste  save  the  cannon,  and 
tumbled  into  the  longboat. 

Nancy,  with  the  French  girl  Cherie,  and 
Three-legs,  stowed  themselves  away  in  the 
stern  with  Barney  aft,  near  them,  at  one  of 
the  oars,  which  he  insisted  upon  manning. 
The  captain  shoved  off,  and  the  longboat  had 
black  water  between  her  and  the  bark,  when 
Nancy  started  up  with  a  shrill  cry : 

"Put  back!  Put  back,  men,"  she  called. 
"There's  a  poor  devil  in  the  forecastle." 

They  looked  at  her  as  if  they  thought  she 
had  become  suddenly  bereft  of  her  wits. 

"How  now,  Nancy?"  asked  the  captain.  "I 
know  of  nobody  else  aboard.  We  are  all  here, 
are  we  not,  men?" 

"Aye,  all  here,  sir/'  called  Jim  Rimble  out 
of  the  darkness  forward. 


1 70         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

The  captain  looked  at  Nancy  inquiringly. 

It  was  the  first  time  he  had  spoken  her  name, 
and  the  sound  of  it  in  his  deep  voice  made  the 
girl  catch  her  breath,  so  that  she  was  too 
startled  to  answer  him,  but  sat  there,  gazing 
into  his  face.  Then  she  shouted — 

'Tut  back,  men,  he's  in  the  forward  hold,  I 
tell  you." 

"Who,  in  God's  name?"  cried  the  captain, 
starting  up. 

"The  dumb  man." 

"The  dumb  man?  Art  ill,  child?  I  know 
no  dumb  man — nor  is  there  one  among  us." 

"Aye,  the  dumb  man,  I  tell  you.  The  man 
with  the  yellow  eyes." 

"Faith !  I  forgot  all  about  him,"  yelled  Bar- 
ney, jumping  up  in  his  excitement. 

"The  man  with  the  yellow  eyes,"  cried  the 
captain  at  this,  more  perplexed  than  ever. 
"What  means  this  gibberish?  You  make  my 
head  to  swim  withal." 

"Thou  wilt  not  fail  to  go  back,  I  know," 
pleaded  Nancy,  putting  her  hand  appealingly 
upon  his  arm.  "The  dumb  man  is  in  the  for- 
ward scuttle.  I  myself  saw  him  hide  himself 


A  BAD  NIGHT'S  WORK         171 


there  when  he  came  aboard,  I  and  the  boy 
ney  here.     Is  it  not  so,  lad?" 

"Aye,  we  saw  him  duck  into  the  scuttle 
plainly  enough  —  curse  his  soul!"  replied  Bar- 
ney. 

"And  then  when  the  storm  broke,  the  scut- 
tle-hatch was  battened  down,"  Nancy  went  on. 
"And  so  he  has  been  in  the  hold  all  this  time. 
And  what  with  the  frightful  heat  and  lack  of 
water  I  fear  me  he  hath  perished." 

"Aye,  like  enough  he  hath  perished,  who- 
ever he  may  be,  but,  by  St.  Bride  of  Douglas  ! 
who  was  the  fellow?  I  saw  him  not,  nor 
even  dreamed  such  a  one  was  aboard." 

"True,  I  had  forgotten,"  answered  Nancy. 
"You  saw  him  not.  He  is  the  dumb  man  — 
the  man  with  the  yellow  eyes.  'Tis  all  I  know 
of  him,  save  that  'twas  he  who  escaped  from 
d'Ogeron's  castle,  where  I  had  him  securely 
bound  with  cords,  and  gave  the  alarm  to  the 
buccaneers." 

"Split  my  wizen!"  cried  out  Jim  Rimble  at 
hearing  this.  "Then  let  him  rot  there. 
What,  men?" 

"How  now,  Jim  Rimble,"  said  the  captain 


i;2          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

quietly,  but  with  a  deeper  vibration  in  his  voice. 
"When  did  you  take  command  of  this  craft?" 

But  there  was  an  answering  roar  of  ap- 
proval from  the  men,  and  it  was  not  approval 
of  what  the  captain  had  said,  but  of  Jim  Rim- 
ble's  verdict,  so  that  Nancy,  fearing  that  they 
would  carry  the  day,  sprang  up  and  appealed 
to  them  to  go  back. 

"Faith!"  said  Barney,  breaking  in  impetu- 
ously at  this  juncture,  when  the  men  seemed 
inclined  to  listen  to  the  girl.  "Much  you 
should  concern  yourself  with  this  dog  of  a 
dumb  man,  seeing  what  he  hath  done  to  us." 

"Why,  and  what's  that,  lad?"  asked  the 
captain. 

"He  kidnaped  us,  for  one  thing,"  replied  the 
Irish  lad  bitterly. 

"Kidnaped  thee  ?     Where  ?" 

"Somewhere  outside  of  Lille,  in  France. 
'Twas  thus  we  came  here." 

A  roar  from  the  men,  and  there  was  the 
sound  of  oars  striking  the  water. 

"Nay,  hold,  I  pray  you!"  There  was  win- 
ning appeal  in  Nancy's  voice.  "I  feel  a  pity 
for  the  fellow,  vile  as  he  is.  I  wouldst  have 


A  BAD  NIGHT'S  WORK         173 

thee  go  back  and  fetch  him  aboard.  I  cannot 
bear  the  thought  of  leaving  him  there  to  die 
like  a  trapped  rat."  . 

"And  he  tried  to  kill  her,  too!"  Barney 
was  full  of  animosity;  besides,  the  sound  of 
his  voice  was  pleasant  in  his  ears.  "Aye," 
he  went  on,  "he  tried  to  kill  her  on  the  old 
Baptiste" 

"Then  may  God  have  mercy  on  his  soul," 
said  Jim  Rimble  in  a  deep  rumble,  "for  there 
he  stays  till  his  bones  rot,  eh,  mates?" 

"Aye,  Jim  Rimble,  there  he  stays,  right 
enough.  Thou  didst  speak  truly  then — as 
truly  as  any  fisherman  can." 

There  was  a  laugh  all  around  at  this  sally. 

"Let  him  rest  where  he  is,  mademoiselle," 
whispered  Barney. 

"Nay,  I  will  save  him  with  God's  help,"  she 
answered.  "Now,  men,  wilt  go  back  for  me?" 

"Well,  miss,"  answered  Jim  Rimble,  "we'd 
do  most  anything  for  you  that  you  asked  us 
to  do,  except  this.  Here's  a  man  we're  devil- 
ish well  rid  of.  First,  he  kidnaps  you,  then 
he  fights  you,  then  he  betrays  you — and  us. 
If  we  had  him  here  right  now,  we'd  cut  his 


174         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

throat  and  throw  him  in  the  pickle,  eh,  mates  ?" 

"That  we  would,  Jim  Rimble!"  roared  the 
men  heartily.  "That  we  would.  In  the  pickle 
with  the  fishes  that  you  didn't  catch." 

The  captain  had  kept  silent,  for  he  was  in  no 
mood  to  waste  precious  time  in  the  rescue  of  a 
fellow  so  worthless  as  the  dumb  man,  by  all 
accounts,  appeared  to  be.  Now  Nancy,  seeing 
that  she  could  expect  no  aid  from  him,  sprang 
quickly  to  the  gunwale  and  poised  there. 

"Go  back,  or  I  shall  throw  myself  into  the 
sea !"  said  she. 

One  of  the  seamen  left  his  place  and  started 
towards  her  in  the  darkness,  but  she  saw  him 
coming. 

"Nay,"  she  said,  "come  no  nearer.  If  you 
do,  I  will  hurl  myself  overboard.  Wilt  go 
back,  men?" 

"Aye,  we'll  go  back,  Devon,"  said  the  cap- 
tain, and  gave  the  order. 

The  men  pulled  back  to  the  black  hulk  of  the 
Baptiste.  Half  a  dozen  then  went  aboard. 
Nancy,  following  them,  waited  anxiously  while 
they  pried  off  the  forward  scuttle-hatch,  and 
Pierre,  the  Frenchman,  thrusting  his  head  into 


A  BAD  NIGHT'S  WORK         175 

the  narrow  opening,  just  large  enough  to  admit 
the  body  of  one  man,  called  out : 

"Hein!  You  there  with  the  yellow  eyes. 
Why  are  you  loafing  below  when  honest  men 
are  at  work?" 

But  there  was  no  answer. 

"Dumb  men  can't  hear,  can  they?"  asked 
Pierre,  when  he  had  called  again  and  again 
with  the  same  result. 

"Aye,  they  can  hear  well  enough,"  answered 
Nancy.  "Leastways,  this  fellow  can.  He  is 
not  dumb  from  birth,  but  hath  had  his  tongue 
cut  out." 

"A  galley-bird,  like  enough,"  said  Jim  Rim- 
ble.  "Well,  what  to  do  now.  We  can't  wait 
here  all  night.  I  think  I'm  getting  ready  to 
feel  a  breeze  now,  and  if  that  ship  gets  away 
from  us" — he  wagged  his  head  at  Nancy  as  if 
to  say  that  further  words  absolutely  failed  him 
— "I'm  for  shoving  off.  We've  given  him  a 
chance.  What  more  could  he  ask?" 

"Let  me  look  for  him,"  replied  Nancy,  and 
lowered  herself  through  the  scuttle. 

If  it  had  been  dark  on  deck,  the  blackness 
was  impenetrable  in  the  hole  in  which  she  now 


176         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

found  herself.  The  water  in  the  hold  was  not 
so  deep  here  as  she  had  seen  it  aft  that  day, 
but  it  was  above  her  waist  as  she  felt  her  way 
slowly  forward,  searching  for  the  man  she 
knew  was  there  somewhere,  but  whether  dead 
or  alive  she  could  not  tell. 

At  last  she  found  him,  when  she  had  all 
but  abandoned  the  hope  of  doing  so.  He  had 
crawled  upon  one  of  the  timbers  fastened  into 
one  of  the  carling  knees,  and  must  have  fainted 
there  from  heat  and  thirst,  and  was  still  un- 
conscious, for  Nancy  could  detect  no  sign  of 
life  in  him.  She  reproached  herself  for  hav- 
ing let  that  time  of  storm  and  stress,  and  that 
something  new  that  had  come  into  her  life  to 
make  her  a  dreamer,  drive  him  from  her 
memory. 

She  pushed  his  great  bulk  into  the  water, 
and,  towing  him  back  to  the  hatchway,  called 
up.  Presently  the  men  brought  a  tackle  and 
hauled  him  out  and  laid  him  upon  the  deck. 

Jim  Rimble,  thereupon,  ran  off  as  fast  as  he 
could  go,  and  returning  to  the  longboat  and 
stating  the  case  to  the  captain,  came  back  in  no 
great  time  with  a  bowl  of  water  which  he 


A  BAD  NIGHT'S  WORK         177 

poured  into  the  empty,  tongueless  gullet  of  the 
dumb  man.  This  and  the  night  air  revived 
him. 

His  eyelids  fluttered,  and  presently  they 
opened,  and  those  strange  and  awful  yellow 
eyes  were  staring  up  at  them.  And  so  they 
bore  him  back  into  the  longboat  and  laid  him 
down.  The  men  taking  their  places  once  more, 
they  shoved  off,  and  the  lBaptiste  was  left  to 
herself. 

No  bodings  of  ill  came  to  haunt  the  girl. 
Her  mind  was  at  rest;  but  the  simpler  nature 
of  the  boy  was  stirred.  He  came  to  her,  when 
he  gave  over  his  oar  after  a  while  to  one  of 
the  men,  and  bending  down  so  that  none  might 
hear,  he  said — 

"We  have  done  a  bad  night's  work,  made- 
moiselle." 

That  was  all.  But  the  words  found  lodg- 
ment in  her  soul,  and  she  could  not  rid  her- 
self of  them. 


CHAPTER  X 

ST.   GEORGE   FOR  ENGLAND 

The  men  bent  to  their  oars  and  pulled  in 
silence,  with  a  long,  easy,  stroke.  The  cap- 
tain at  the  helm  held  the  longboat  on  a  course 
that  should  fetch  her  up  with  the  ship,  if  the 
air  did  not  freshen  too  soon;  for  the  dead,  flat 
calm  had  lasted  since  sundown,  and  the  vessel 
could  not  have  sailed  much  beyond  the  place 
where  they  had  last  seen  her  topsails  in  the 
engulfing  darkness.  The  men  rowed  steadily, 
and  what  with  the  mystery  of  the  night  and 
their  exhaustion,  and  the  torturing  thirst  in 
their  throats,  were  in  no  mood  for  talk.  They 
were  as  still  as  the  dumb  man  who  lay  gasp- 
ing in  the  bottom  of  the  boat  at  Nancy's  feet, 
his  yellow  eyes  staring  up  at  the  sky. 

The  first  faint  ribbons  of  dawn  fluttered 
above  the  eastern  rim  of  the  sea  and  the  timid 
stars  slipping  away,  a  deeper  darkness  than 
that  of  midnight  thickened  around  them  for  a 

178 


ST.  GEORGE  FOR  ENGLAND    179 

while,  until,  of  a  sudden,  the  lordly  sun  was 
among  them,  and  it  was  day.  Out  of  the  fleet- 
ing mists  to  starboard  emerged  the  ship,  with 
the  sails  already  unfurling  upon  her  spars. 

"Sail  ho!"  softly  called  Pierre,  the  lookout 
in  the  bow,  but  all  had  seen  her. 

As  they  looked,  there  came  a  ripple  across 
the  placid  waters.  The  sails  filled  now,  catch- 
ing the  first  faint  breath  of  the  morning,  and 
the  Spanish  Ancient  fluttered  in  the  breeze. 
Her  canvas  bellied  and  she  was  off  upon  her 
course. 

"I  knew  she  was  a  Don,"  chuckled  Jim  Rim- 
ble,  and  lay  back  upon  his  oar.  "Ho!  Mas- 
ter Bras-de-Mort,  you  were  too  proud  to  drive 
a  nail  into  the  pinnace;  perhaps  there's  other 
work  more  suited  to  your  taste." 

"Try  me  and  see,"  replied  the  Frenchman. 

"And  quickly,  too,"  said  Jim  Rimble. 
"There's  a  bit  of  sport  to  be  done  here,  I'm 
thinking." 

"Aye !"  chorused  the  men  under  their  breath. 

A  flaw  striking  them  then,  Captain  Stilling- 
fleet  hauled  the  sail  up,  and  they  went  about 
ship.  They  got  the  wind  of  the  Spaniard,  bore 


i8o          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

down  upon  her  on  the  quarter,  and  so  came 
upon  her  out  of  the  vapor  that  hung  above  the 
sea,  before  she  could  get  under  way  upon  the 
other  tack. 

Before  the  alarm  was  given,  and  the  Span- 
iard's crew  came  tumbling  up,  the  longboat 
drifted  down  her  side  and  grated  along  her 
chains.  Twenty  of  the  men,  with  Jim  Rimble 
and  Pierre  and  Bras-de-Mort  at  their  head, 
were  in  her  shrouds  in  a  twinkling,  and  over 
her  forecastle,  upon  the  deck,  where  they  met 
the  bewildered  Dons  with  their  stout  staves 
and  axes,  laying  about  with  them  furiously. 
A  fusillade  of  shots  was  poured  into  them, 
and  some  of  the  English  went  down,  but  by 
now  the  rest  had  clambered  over  the  side,  and, 
gaining  the  deck,  came  to  close  quarters. 

They  fought  desperately  with  their  capstan 
bars  and  pikes,  and  a  cutlass  or  two  that  had 
been  dropped  by  the  wounded  Spaniards,  but 
the  musket  fire  told  upon  them,  and  they  were 
being  driven  back  when  Nancy,  who  had  been 
among  the  last  to  leave  the  longboat,  burdened 
as  she  was  with  Three-legs,  finally  gained  the 
deck.  Covered  with  blood  which  streamed 


ST.  GEORGE  FOR  ENGLAND     181 

from  their  wounds,  gasping  and  panting,  the 
fierce  light  of  battle  raging  in  their  feverish 
eyes,  the  English  retreated  step  by  step. 

The  Spanish  captain,  who  had  been  asleep 
in  his  cabin,  came  up  now  in  all  his  armor,  and 
taking  in  the  situation,  he  cried — 

"Death  to  the  English  dogs !" 

He  drew  his  rapier  and  the  sun  sparkled  and 
flashed  upon  it.  There  surged,  then,  into 
Nancy's  memory  the  stories  of  her  childhood. 
Her  father  and  all  her  kinsmen  had  fought  the 
Spaniards  at  home  and  in  the  Low  Countries, 
and  so  there  flamed  now  in  her  dark  blue  eyes  a 
light  that  Algernon  Sidney  would  have  loved 
to  behold. 

"Ho,  men,  'tis  sink  or  swim  now,  my  brave 
comrades!"  she  suddenly  cried  out  in  a  loud 
voice.  And,  leaning  over  the  side  of  the  ship, 
cut  with  an  axe  the  painter  which  held  the 
longboat  at  the  bow,  and  set  it  adrift,  and 
then  called  out  again,  "St.  George  for  Eng- 
land!" The  English,  seeing  their  boat  far 
astern  and  knowing  that  there  was  now  but  one 
thing  to  do,  did  it  so  lustily,  and  with  such  fresh 
energy,  that  they  drove  the  Spaniards  back, 


1 82          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

and  forcing  most  of  them  below,  begging  for 
quarter,  the  ship  presently  struck. 

The  captain,  the  Devon  captain,  that  is,  for 
so  she  called  him,  took  the  quarterdeck,  and 
mustering  enough  men  to  man  the  ship,  sent 
Pierre  to  the  helm.  Gathering  way,  they  were 
off  before  a  freshening  wind,  in  possession  of 
as  fine  a  West-Indiaman  of  170  tons  and  four- 
teen guns  as  would  gladden  the  hearts  of  any 
shipwrecked  mariners. 

The  men  waited  but  to  seize  all  the  weapons 
they  could  lay  their  hands  upon,  as  well  musk- 
ets and  pistols  as  cutlasses,  when  they  made  a 
rush  for  the  great  cabin  and  the  bread-room, 
and  threw  themselves  like  ravenous  beasts 
upon  all  the  food  and  water  they  could  find, 
so  that  they  were  like  to  gorge  themselves  to 
their  death,  seeing  that  they  would  heed  none 
of  the  remonstrances  of  the  captain.  They 
broke  open  the  hold,  too,  and,  bringing  out 
some  casks,  staved  in  the  heads. 

"Victuals  and  drink!"  cried  Jim  Rimble, 
leaping  about  the  deck  in  a  frenzy  of  joy  and 
excitement,  a  gobbet  of  meat  in  one  hand  and 
a  pewter  mug  of  wine  in  the  other,  "Victuals 


ST.  GEORGE  FOR  ENGLAND     183 

and  drink!"  He  rolled  his  eyes  at  Nancy. 
His  weather-beaten  face,  seamed  with  a  thou- 
sand wrinkles,  was  redder  than  any  sun  had 
been  able  to  bake  it.  "Ah!  my  lady,  victuals 
and  drink  are  the  best  things  in  all  the  world. 
Yet  I  like  not  these  sweet  Spanish  wines — 
would  rather  have  a  pottle  of  good  old  English 
ale.  Aye,  that's  a  drink  for  ye !" 

"Have  a  care,  Jim  Rimble,"  admonished 
Nancy.  "One  should  be  prudent  after  a  long 
fast." 

But  she  might  as  well  have  talked  to  the 
mainmast,  for  all  the  effect  her  advice  had. 
Now  that  the  ship  was  theirs,  and  they  had 
food  and  drink  in  abundance,  the  men  were 
not  disposed  to  take  orders  from  anybody,  save 
those  that  were  required  for  their  own  safety 
and  the  navigation  of  the  ship. 

Observing  that  Cherie  and  Bras-de-Mort 
were  as  gluttonous  as  any,  and  that  Barney 
was  making  up  for  lost  time  with  a  rapacity 
that  threatened  to  burst  him,  Nancy  turned  her 
attention  to  them,  to  such  good  effect  that  they, 
and  a  few  of  the  men,  more  prudent  than  the 
rest,  were  finally  wise  enough  to  heed  her 


184          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

warnings.  The  soundness  of  her  advice  was 
apparent  in  no  very  great  time,  when  so  many 
of  the  men  were  taken  ill  that  had  another  fret 
of  wind  come  upon  them  the  ship  must  have 
been  lost  for  lack  of  hands  to  trim  her  sails; 
while  the  Spaniards  might  have  retaken  her 
•but  for  the  precaution  that  was  taken  of  bat- 
tening down  the  hatches  upon  them. 

Nancy  ate  but  a  scanty  breakfast,  and  then, 
returning  to  the  deck,  drew  the  Irish  lad  to  one 
side,  for  the  question  of  her  own  fortunes,  and 
with  them  those  of  her  friends  in  England,  was 
still  uppermost  in  her  mind,  and  she  wished  to 
talk  with  the  boy  about  her  plans. 

"Hark  thee,  Barney,"  she  said,  when  they 
were  well  alone.  "Thou  hast  been  a  faithful 
friend  since  the  night  we  first  met  in  the  market 
square  at  Lille.  Now,  here  we  are,  lad,  our 
lives  saved  for  the  present,  to  be  sure,  and  God 
be  praised  for  that,  but  on  a  course  that  will 
never  fetch  us  to  England,  I  fear.  What  do 
you  counsel,  lad?" 

"Counsel?" 

"Aye — what  to  do  next,  lad.     Here  we  are 


ST.  GEORGE  FOR  ENGLAND     185 

in  the  Spanish  Indies.     Well,  we  can't  stay 
here,  can  we?" 

"Why  not?"  demanded  Barney. 
"I  have  business  in  London — urgent  busi- 
ness, that  has  been  ^delayed  already,  I  fear,  far 
too  long." 

"Then  in  that  case  I  would  give  it  over,"  an- 
swered the  Irish  lad,  his  eyes  sparkling. 
"Give  it  over?     Ah,  that  I  cannot  do." 
"We  have  a  fine  ship,"  protested  Barney. 
"Faith,  mademoiselle,  what  more  could  a  body 
want — plenty  to  eat  and  to  drink,  and  the  whole 
wide  world  ahead  of  us.     I  want  to  see  some- 
thing, I  do." 

"Ah,  Barney,"  she  smiled,  "thou  hast  been 
a  very  man,  indeed,  but  I  fear  thou  art  a  child 
at  heart.     Life  is  made  up  of  far  more  seri- 
ous things  than  thou  wot  of." 
"Mutiny,  for  one  thing!" 
Nancy  wheeled  at  the  sound  of  that  voice 
— his  voice — and  he  was  standing  there,  look- 
ing at  her  quizzically,  his  blue  eyes  smiling,  yet 
troubled,  too. 

"Mutiny?"  she  demanded. 


1 86          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

"Aye,  mutiny!  The  men  are  rapidly  get- 
ting out  of  hand.  To  hear  them  talk,  one 
would  never  imagine  that  they  were  lately  in  a 
dungeon  cell,  with  ropes  around  their  necks, 
and  the  hulks  staring  them  in  the  face.  They 
will  have  this  and  they  must  have  that.  They 
can't  make  up  their  minds  as  to  anything,  and 
they  won't  let  anybody  else  do  it  for  them — 
the  beggars !" 

"I  thought  you  were  the  captain,"  she  an- 
swered. "They  have  obeyed  you  hitherto." 

"When  it  suited  them,  and  then  only  because 
they  are  lost  without  me.  As  good  sea  dogs 
they  are  as  ever  sailed  out  of  Plymouth,  but 
there  isn't  a  navigator  among  them.  I  have 
them  there !" 

"Thou  shouldst  have  no  trouble  in  coming 
to  terms  then,  methinks." 

"Aye,  if  they  didst  but  know  it.  They  are 
such  fools,  they  have  not  learned  yet  that  not 
a  man  among  them  can  take  an  observation  or 
lay  off  a  course." 

"Where  would  you  take  them,  sir?" 

"To  England." 

"To     England!"     Surprise     and     delight 


ST.  GEORGE  FOR  ENGLAND    187 

mingled  in  the  look  that  Nancy  gave  him  then. 
Her  eyes  danced  with  joy.  "  'Tis  where  I,  too, 
would  go." 

"By  St.  Bride  of  Douglas!  I  cannot  bend 
them  to  my  will,  what  with  the  Spanish  crew 
between  decks  that  we  must  have  an  eye  to. 
They  will  have  naught  of  England,  nor  can  I 
prevail  upon  them  to  make  for  Port  Royal, 
where  I  could  find  a  ship  for  home." 

"Will  not  go?" 

"Nay.  Nor  do  I  blame  them,  seeing  that 
their  lives  and  liberty  are  at  stake." 

"Their  lives  and  liberty?  But  Port  Royal 
is  an  English  city,  and  Jamaica  an  English 
colony,  thanks  to  Cromwell,  and  whatever  Eng- 
land takes  she  never  relinquishes.  I  had  not 
heard  we  had  lost  this  place." 

"Aye,  'tis  English,  well  enough,"  he  smiled, 
"but  the  men  would  rather  see  the  devil  him- 
self just  now  than  Governor  Modyford."  He 
made  a  motion  as  if  to  place  a  noose  about  his 
neck.  "A  dozen  of  them  would  be  hanged," 
he  finished  shortly,  "and  another  dozen  sold  as 
indentured  servants  for  the  debt  they  have 
taken  leg  bail  for." 


i88          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

"And  thyself,  sir  ?"  she  asked,  and  then  low- 
ered her  eyes,  for  she  had  not  meant  the  ques- 
tion as  he  had  taken  it. 

"I  am  on  his  Majesty's  service,"  he  an- 
swered, his  face  flushing. 

"Forgive  me.     I  did  not  intend — " 

"Nay,  I  am  as  ragged  and  unkempt  as  these 
other  tatterdemalions.  Your  thought  but  does 
justice  to  your  intelligence." 

"A  queer  place  for  the  king  to  have  business, 
methinks,"  said  Nancy,  looking  at  him  with 
eyes  full  of  innocent  wonder. 

"Aye,"  he  answered,  staring  at  the  tumbling 
sea  and  the  distant  horizon.  "Such  a  series  of 
mishaps  have  brought  me  thither  I  could  not 
tell  you  of  them  in  a  month,"  and  he  shook  his 
great  Saxon  head  like  an  angry  bull. 

"Mishaps,"  ventured  Nancy,  thinking  of  her 
own  misfortunes,  "seem  to  be  the  fashion.  I 
should  be  in  London  this  very  moment.  Long 
since  now  should  I  have  been  there." 

"And  I,  also,  yet  here  I  am,  a  derelict,  adrift 
with  a  gang'  of  cutthroats — and  a  very  charm- 
ing woman — "  this  last  with  a  glance  that 
made  her  lower  her  eyes — "and  bound  I  know 


ST.  GEORGE  FOR  ENGLAND     189 

not  whither,  but  certainly  not  towards  Eng- 
land." 

"Must  you  go  thither  ?"  she  asked,  trying  to 
keep  from  her  voice  the  anxiety  that  she  felt 
in  waiting  for  his  answer. 

"  Tis  vital  that  I  should,"  he  said.  "Else 
I  shall  be  ruined,  for  others  whom  I  cannot 
name  depend  upon  me." 

"And  I — "  Nancy  began  eagerly,  then 
checked  the  words  she  had  upon  her  tongue. 

"My  ship  for  Dover  was  wrecked  in  the 
Channel,"  he  went  on,  "and  I  was  picked  up 
by  one  of  the  fishing  fleet  for  Newfoundland, 
nor  could  I  induce  them,  for  what  store  of 
gold  I  had  by  me,  to  put  back,  and  since  I  could 
not  disclose  my  identity  to  them,  perforce  I 
had  to  go  whither  they  wished.  Head  winds 
and  storms  drove  us  far  out  of  our  course,  and 
running  short  of  provisions,  the  sloop  I  was 
aboard  tried  for  the  colony  in  the  Virginias,  but 
being  buffeted  farther  south,  we  finally  made 
a  landfall  in  the  Summer  Isles,  where  I  took 
passage  on  a  vessel  for  Port  Royal." 

"You  have  had  adventures,  sir,"  she  smiled. 
"I  love  them,  too." 


190         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

"Call  them  that,  an'  you  wish,"  he  replied 
bitterly.  "For  myself,  I  crave  no  others  now." 

"From  Port  Royal  one  might  hope  to  sail  for 
England,  I  should  think,"  said  Nancy,  after  a 
pause,  her  words  almost  a  question. 

"Aye,  but  we  never  reached  there,  for  falling 
in  with  the  Dons,  I  was  taken  to  Domingo,  but 
escaped,  and  finding  my  way  with  a  party  of 
cattle-hunters  to  Tortuga,  reached  there  just  as 
d'Ogeron  was  cleaning  up  the  island  of  all  Eng- 
lishmen, that  he  might  undisturbed  make  a 
French  colony  of  the  place,  and  so  was  clapped 
into  his  bloody  fort  along  with  the  rest  of 
these  old  standers.  And  there  we  rotted  un- 
til you  came  in  the  night  to  show  us  the  way 
to  liberty.  Odsfish !  Fate  hath  a  pranky  way 
with  her,  sometimes.  What  with  rage  and 
mortification  I  could  tear  out  my  hair  by  the 
roots !" 

"His  Majesty's  business,  methinks,  rests 
more  seriously  upon  his  courtiers  than  upon 
himself,"  said  Nancy. 

"He  trusted  me,"  replied  the  Devon  man, 
simply.  "He  is  the  king." 

She  shrugged  her  shoulders  defiantly. 


ST.  GEORGE  FOR  ENGLAND     191 

"Nay,"  he  answered,  "  'tis  no  ordinary  mat- 
ter. His  Majesty's  crown,  aye,  his  very  life, 
may  be  depending  even  now  upon  me  in  these 
days  of  cursed  Puritan  conspiracies.  Paris  is 
a  hotbed  of  treason  in  these  troubled  times, 
such  as  thou  couldst  not  even  dream  of." 

"Treason?"  she  repeated,  her  wide  blue  eyes 
full  of  innocence  again. 

"Aye,  black  treason.  Sidney  is  there,  the 
arch  conspirator,  and  Colonel  Chillingworth,  a 
very  dog  for  plots.  'Twas  on  that  business  I 
was  sent  to  Paris,  and  when  I  had  secured  the 
evidence  I  started  back  and — " 

"Evidence!"  cried  Nancy,  for  a  moment  off 
her  guard.  "Ah,  Master  Courtier,  how  brave 
you  are,  and  smart." 

"Aye,"  he  said,  hugely  pleased  with  himself 
and  with  her,  "I  had  them  all  in  one  net,  and 
might  have  sent  them  to  the  block.  But  I 
speak  too  freely  to  a  stranger,  though  that  thou 
art  a  Devon  maid  did  make  me  loosen  my 
tongue." 

Nancy  leaned  over  the  rail,  her  face  turned 
from  him  lest  he  see  in  it  something  of  the 
deep  concern  his  words  had  caused  her. 


192         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

"We  have  been  thrown  together  strangely," 
he  continued,  after  a  pause,  taking  her  small 
hand  in  his,  "yet  such  has  been  the  turmoil  in 
our  lives  since  we  have  met,  I  have  not  learned 
your  name,  save  that  the  Irish  lad  calls  thee 
Mistress  Nancy — a  pretty  name,  and  one  I 
love." 

She  drew  away  from  him,  blushes  staining 
her  cheeks,  but  he  held  her  hand,  nor  did  she 
try  to  take  it  from  him. 

"I  am  of  the  Devonshire  Stillingfleets ;  God- 
frey, by  name,  of  his  Majesty's  Royal  Navy,  at 
your  service,  ma'am,"  he  said. 

"The  name  is  not  new  to  me,  sir,"  replied 
Nancy.  "I  know  it  well  as  an  honorable  one 
in  my  country,  that  has  long  been  associated 
with  our  exploits  on  the  sea." 

"My  grandfather  sailed  with  Hawkins,  and 
was  with  Drake  at  Nombre  de  Dios.  I  have 
used  the  sea  all  my  life.  And  you — Nancy? 
The  boy  said  that  you  had  been  kidnaped  in 
France.  How  came  a  gentlewoman  here,  and 
what,  may  I  ask,  is  your  name?" 

"You  speak  of  me  as  a  gentlewoman,"  she 
answered,  averting  her  eyes  once  more,  "yet 


ST.  GEORGE  FOR  ENGLAND     193 

you  found  me  in  company  to  make  you  think 
naught  but  ill  of  me." 

"Nay,"  he  answered.  "You  wear  your 
credentials  upon  your  face  and  in  your  eyes, 
which  do  not  lie." 

Whereupon,  for  some  strange  reason,  Nancy 
found  she  could  not  look  at  him,  and  so  gazed 
off  to  sea  with  eyes  that  were  blurred. 

"My  name — I  cannot  tell  you,  sir,"  she  an- 
swered, after  a  pause,  when  he  had  taken  her 
other  hand.  "Call  me  'Nancy.'  Tis  all  I 
can  give  you  now,  and  I  beg  of  you  do  not  press 
me  further." 

He  bowed. 

"And  now,"  she  went  on  briskly,  stopping 
to  pull  the  ears  of  Three-legs  who  came  up  and 
threw  himself  at  her  feet,  "what  say  the  men? 
They  will  not  listen  to  your  desires  to  return 
to  England.  Peradventure  they  have  some- 
thing to  suggest." 

"Aye,  that  they  have,"  he  answered,  bring- 
ing his  fist  down  upon  the  rail.  "They  pro- 
pose to  go  where  they  list  to  seek  purchase." 

"Purchase!" 

"They  needs  must  have  more  gold,  and  so 


194          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

would  gain  further  booty  from  the  Spaniards 
in  these  seas." 

"What !"  she  cried.  "Would  they  then  turn 
pirate?" 

"Turn  pirate,"  said  he  at  this,  looking  at 
her  wonderingly.  "My  God,  madame,  they 
are  pirates !" 


CHAPTER  XI 

THREE   HUNDRED   THOUSAND   CROWNS 

Young  Barney  McGiggen,  his  red  rag  of  a 
tongue  curling  from  the  corners  of  his  de- 
lighted mouth,  and  his  countless  freckles 
sparkling  in  the  tropical  sunlight  like  so  many 
specks  of  gold,  had  leaned  over  the  rail  dose 
by  them,  absorbed  apparently  in  a  school  of 
flying-fish,  disporting  themselves  in  the  waves. 
But  his  ears  had  drunk  in  all  that  had  been 
said. 

"Faith,  then,  mademoiselle!"  he  cried,  his 
freckles  vanishing  for  an  instant  as  his  grin 
deepened.  "If  we  are  pirates,  praise  God,  we 
have  lost  the  best  one  among  us,  for  never  did 
I  see  a  man  more  fitted  for  the  trade  than 
Yellow  Eyes." 

"Lost  him  ?"  demanded  Nancy,  wonderingly. 
"What  mean  you,  lad?" 

"Nothing,  save  that  we  shall  never  see  him 
again.  He's  gone!" 

"Gone?" 

195 


196          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

"Faith,  and  he  was  after  being  in  the  long- 
boat when  you  cut  her  adrift." 

"And  good  riddance,  too,  I  say,  if  this  be 
true,"  interrupted  Captain  Stillingfleet. 

'Tis  true  enough,"  moaned  Nancy.  "I  re- 
call it  all.  I  was  the  last  one  over  the  side  just 
now  when  we  took  the  ship.  The  dumb  man 
was  lying  there  in  the  bottom  of  the  longboat, 
too  weak  to  move,  unable  to  cry  out,  and  in  the 
excitement  of  the  fight  I  gave  him  not  a 
thought."  Tears  sprang  to  her  eyes.  "He 
will  die,  I  know,  of  hunger  and  thirst,  for  he 
was  all  but  dead  when  I  hauled  him  out  of  the 
hold  of  the  Baptiste" 

She  ran  to  the  stern  and  scanned  the  sea, 
then  climbed  into  the  shrouds  that  she  might 
have  a  wider  view.  Seeing  all  around  her 
naught  save  the  boundless  waste  of  water,  she 
called  aloft  to  the  lookout,  but  the  sailor  re- 
plied that  no  sign  of  the  longboat  could  he 
see. 

"We  must  go  back,  Captain  Stillingfleet," 
said  she,  coming  down  from  the  rigging  and 
joining  him  upon  the  quarterdeck.  "I  cannot 
abandon  the  wretch  to  so  horrible  a  fate." 


THREE  HUNDRED  THOUSAND     197 

"Odsfish!  what  is  it  to  you?"  he  answered. 
"The  fellow  hath  been  but  a  menace  to  you 
since  first  he  kidnaped  you  in  France  and 
brought  you  thither.  We  are  all  well  rid  of 
him.  Never,  I  think,  did  I  see  so  repulsive  a 
human.  He  had  the  eye  of  a  devil,  if  ever  I 
saw  one." 

"What  you  say  may  be  true,  and  I  have  no 
cause  to  feel  pity  for  him,  but  he  is  one  of  God's 
creatures  and  I  cannot  abide  the  thought  of 
leaving  him  alone  in  all  this  desert  with  neither 
food  nor  drink." 

"There  was  some  water  left  in  the  cask," 
replied  Captain  Stillingfleet  indifferently, 
"enough,  mayhap,  to  last  him  a  day  or  two. 
But  I  do  believe  he  is  dead  by  now.  In  all 
events  it  would  be  a  hopeless  task  to  search  for 
him,  for  we  have  taken  no  observation  since  we 
seized  the  ship,  and  know  not  where  we  are,  nor 
whence  we  came,  nor  how  the  currents  set  in 
these  parts,  nor  anything  soever,  save  that  we 
have  sailed  before  the  wind.  To  look  for  him 
would  be  a  waste  of  time." 

"But  you  will  bring  the  ship  about  and  try," 
she  pleaded,  laying  her  hand  upon  his  arm. 


198          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

"I  could  not,  if  I  would.  The  men,  with  half 
of  them  lying  in  the  scuppers  from  their  glut- 
tony, would  refuse  me  even  if  they  were  able 
to,  and  I  would  but  force  an  issue  that  I  would 
defer  until  a  more  favorable  time.  So  you 
must  give  it  over." 

"Faith,  he'll  turn  up  again,  mademoiselle," 
said  Barney,  wagging  his  head  knowingly. 
"That  fellow  was  never  born  to  die — he  was 
born  to  get  killed." 

Whereupon,  Captain  Stillingfleet,  with  a 
great  laugh,  clapped  him  so  heartily  upon  the 
back  that  Barney  was  lifted  from  his  feet  and 
went  off  rubbing  his  shoulder. 

"And  now,"  added  the  Devon  man  to  Nancy, 
"I  have  sent  for  the  Spanish  captain,  and,  if 
you  like,  you  may  remain  here  by  me  and  speak 
with  him." 

The  Spaniard  emerged  at  that  moment  from 
his  cabin  where  he  had  retired  when  the  ship 
had  struck,  and  with  him  was  a  girl  about  her 
own  age  who  was  the  most  beautiful  woman, 
Nancy  thought,  that  she  had  ever  seen,  a  dark, 
tigress-eyed  creature,  with  hair  like  the  mantle 


THREE  HUNDRED  THOUSAND     199 

of  midnight,  and  the  pale  olive  complexion  of 
her  race. 

"My  apologies  to  you,  sefior,  for  the  incon- 
veniences we  have  put  you  to,"  smiled  Stilling- 
fleet,  with  the  easy  grace  of  a  courtier;  but, 
although  he  addressed  himself  to  the  Spanish 
captain,  Nancy  observed  that  he  had  eyes  only 
for  the  daughter,  and  a  new  emotion  surged 
within  her  bosom. 

"Nay,"  the  Spaniard  answered  with  a  bow, 
"  'tis  the  fortune  of  war,  and  I  cannot  com- 
plain. I  would  have  the  honor  of  presenting 
you  to  my  daughter,  Yvonne,  did  I  but  know 
your  name." 

"I  am  Captain  Stillingfleet,"  said  Godfrey, 
"of  the  Royal  Navy  of  England,  and  at  your 
service,  sefior." 

The  Spaniard  looked  at  Nancy,  meaningly, 
at  her  bare  limbs,  her  coarse  shirt  and  breeches, 
at  the  mop  of  tangled  hair  crowded  into  her 
cap,  and  there  was  a  question  in  his  eyes,  al- 
though he  did  not  speak.  His  daughter,  sur- 
veying her  from  unkempt  crown  to  bare  toes, 
her  own  lips  and  nostrils  curling  into  a  con- 


200         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

temptuous  smile,  turned  her  back,  while  the 
hot  blood  mounted  to  the  English  girl's  cheeks. 

"My  name,"  said  Nancy,  quivering  at  the 
insult  that  was  more  full  of  meaning  than 
any  mere  words  might  have  expressed,  "can 
matter  little  to  you.  Therefore,  I  forbear  to 
mention  it." 

The  Spaniard  flushed,  and  would  have 
spoken  had  not  Captain  Stillingfleet  interposed. 

"Nay,"  he  said,  looking  at  his  country- 
woman, "one  should  be  given  courtesy  when 
one's  ship  hath  been  seized  from  under  him." 
Whereat  Nancy  bit  her  lip  in  vexation  at  the 
position  in  which  she  found  herself,  and,  re- 
penting as  quickly  as  she  had  offended,  she 
had  an  apology  on  her  tongue  when  the  Spanish 
girl,  with  a  languishing  glance  at  Captain  Stil- 
lingfleet, shrugged  her  shoulders  with  a  gesture 
more  eloquent  than  language. 

"  'One's  ship,'  indeed,"  flared  up  Nancy  at 
this,  stung  again  to  the  quick.  "Since  when 
have  Spaniards  sailed  in  English  ships  and 
called  them  theirs?" 

"English  ships !"  exclaimed  Captain  Stilling- 
fleet. 


THREE  HUNDRED  THOUSAND    201 

"Aye,  this  is  an  English  ship." 

"That  cannot  be." 

"Is  it  not  so,  Sefior  Captain  ?"  she  demanded, 
wheeling  upon  him.  "Then  how  came  you  by 
it  ?  What  did  you  with  the  English  crew  who 
manned  her?  Peradventure  they  are  starving 
their  lives  out  in  the  galleys,  or  rotting  in  the 
dungeon  beneath  the  sea  at  San  Juan  d'Ulloa, 
where  that  brave  Plymouth  man,  John  Hawk- 
ins, did  have  a  taste  of  your  treachery,  as 
every  one  in  Devon  knows.  And  you,  Captain 
Stillingfleet,  prate  of  seizing  a  ship!  We  have 
but  taken  for  England  what  is  rightfully  Eng- 
land's." 

"Not  so  fast,  Mistress  Nancy,"  broke  in  the 
Devon  man  at  this,  while  some  of  the  mariners 
lurched  down  to  the  rail  of  the  quarterdeck  at 
hearing  the  girl's  voice  rise  with  excitement. 
"It  cannot  be  an  English  ship — 'tis  not  rigged 
as  one." 

"English  she  is,  I  tell  you,"  she  cried.  "I 
have  seen  too  many  of  them  laid  down  not  to 
know.  Jim  Rimble!"  she  called,  and  Jim,  the 
angler,  stepped  out  of  the  little  knot  of  men 
gathered  at  the  rail.  "Say  truly,  Jim  Rimble, 


202          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

whether    this    be    an    English    ship    or    no." 

Jim  Rimble  pulled  his  forelock,  and  rolling 
his  eyes  at  her  said — 

"Aye,  miss,  'tis  an  English  ship." 

"What  did  I  tell  you?"  cried  the  girl  tri- 
umphantly. "I  knew  her  for  an  English  ship 
the  minute  I  set  my  eyes  upon  her." 

"English  she  be,  miss,  from  main  to  keel," 
confirmed  Jim  Rimble  again,  putting  an  almost 
incredible  amount  of  deep-toned  conviction  into 
his  husky  voice,  "and  built  by  the  Petts  at 
Woolwich — or  I'll  kiss  a  pig.  Her  rigging's 
Spanish  and  her  tackling,  too,  and  her  boul- 
spret  are  new,  but  her  hull's  British.  The 
Madre  de  Dios,  they  call  her  now,  miss,  but 
she's  the  old  Snapdragon,  or  I  will  kiss  a — " 

"How,  now,  Sefior  Captain,"  said  Nancy 
with  a  sparkle  in  her  eyes,  "we  have  but  taken 
what  is  our  own,  here." 

"Hurrah!"  shouted  the  men.  "That's  the 
talk,  Devon." 

The  Spanish  girl's  lips  curved  again,  deli- 
cately and  disdainfully,  and  Nancy  felt  herself 
grow  feverish  once  more. 


THREE  HUNDRED  THOUSAND    203 

"If  this  be  a  lawful  prize  of  war,  methinks 
the  cargo,  too,  is  fair  booty.  Let's  have  a  look 
at  her  papers,  men." 

The  sailors  gave  a  hearty  British  cheer,  and 
jumped  and  capered  about  the  deck  with  glee, 
and  exchanged  meaning  glances  among  them- 
selves, as  if  to  say  that  things  were  going  to 
suit  them  very  well  indeed,  and  just  as  they  had 
planned  they  should.  Captain  Stillingfleet 
looked  thunder-clouds,  but  the  Spanish  cap- 
tain merely  smiled,  with  no  trace  of  annoyance 
upon  his  patrician  face. 

"Nevertheless,  and  you  take  the  ship,  save 
that  you  cast  her  away,  it  will  be  restored  to 
me  in  good  time,"  said  he,  "under  the  law,  as 
you  shall  find  out." 

"There  is  no  law  below  the  tropic,  nor  has 
been  since  Elizabeth's  time,"  replied  Nancy. 
"Nor  is  there  any  law  that  says  that  English- 
men may  not  take  back  an  English  ship  wher- 
ever they  find  it." 

"England  and  Spain  are  now  at  peace,"  said 
Captain  Stillingfleet,  "and  the  senor  speaks 
truly." 


204         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

And  then,  in  an  evil  moment,  he  looked  at 
the  Spanish  girl  again,  and  she,  smiling  at 
him  in  all  her  loveliness,  the  frown  vanished 
from  his  face.  He  smiled  back  at  her  and  thus 
settled  his  fate. 

For  a  high  resolve  had  been  running  in 
Nancy's  mind,  no  less  a  purpose  than  to  save 
her  friends  and  kinsmen,  hiding  in  France  un- 
til, the  Stuarts  might  be  overthrown  again, 
from  the  treachery  of  this  Cavalier  royalist, 
a  resolve  to  keep  him  from  going  back  to  Eng- 
land, at  all  costs,  at  whatever  sacrifice,  until 
time  should  frustrate  his  schemes.  And  then 
that  smile!  It  decided  her. 

"I  would  have  a  word  with  you  in  private," 
said  Godfrey  Stillingfleet,  drawing  her  aside; 
and  when  they  had  walked  to  a  little  distance 
from  the  rest  he  added,  in  a  low  tone,  so  that 
the  Spaniards  might  not  hear:  "What  folly 
is  this  that  prompts  you  to  the  undoing  of  both 
of  us?" 

"I  shall  hold  the  ship,  come  what  may/' 
Nancy  replied,  looking  straight  into  his  won- 
dering eyes. 

''Do  you  not  see  that  by  joining  with  me  we 


THREE  HUNDRED  THOUSAND    205 

can  both  go  back  to  England?  A  little  pa- 
tience and  skill  will  fetch  to  both  of  us  our 
heart's  desire." 

"There  is  time  enough  for  going  back  to 
England,  and  much  that  waits  us  here  in  these 
far  seas." 

"There  is  not  time  for  me,"  he  cried,  stamp- 
ing his  foot,  "nor  for  the  king.  One  might 
think  you  a  Puritan,  a  Conventicler." 

"One  might  think  anything,"  replied  Nancy. 
"I,  for  one,  think  of  going  adventuring." 

"These  men  are  pirates,  I  tell  you,"  cried 
Captain  Stillingfleet,  in  vexation. 

"Since  that  then  is  the  case,"  said  Nancy, 
"I  must  needs  turn  pirate  with  them.  Let  us 
have  a  peek  at  the  papers,  men,"  she  called. 

"Aye,"  roared  the  men,  "let  us  see  what  sort 
of  a  prize  we  have  here,"  and  they  went  tum- 
bling aft,  with  Nancy  at  their  heels. 

They  broke  open  the  supercargo's  cabin,  and 
getting  out  the  ship's  papers  spread  them  upon 
the  table  in  the  great  cabin  and  pored  over 
them  with  exclamations  of  delight,  Nancy 
spelling  out  the  items  amid  a  chorus  of  cheers 
and  yells. 


206          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

"Men,"  said  she,  finally,  "we  have  a  prize 
.here  that  brings  us  great  riches.  Here's  the 
list  of  treasure : 

"Hides,  1,900;  100  chests  of  cochineal;  24 
coffers  of  wedges  of  silver;  8400  Castilian 
reals;  10  coffers  of  the  King  of  Spain's  treas- 
ure ;  240  hundred-weight  of  dyestuff  s ;  780  pigs 
of  lead." 

"And  what,  miss,  is  all  that  worth,  think 
you?"  demanded  Jim  Rimble. 

"Not  less  than  300,000  crowns,"  answered 
the  girl  after  a  pause. 

At  this  the  men  looked  at  one  another  in 
silence.  Then  the  one  among  them  who  was 
called  Trueheart  Jackson,  a  Sussex  man,  taking 
a  long  breath,  "Well,  mates,"  says  he,  "we're 
rich  now,  I'm  thinking,  and  can  go  back  home 
to  Old  England  and  live  like  gentlemen  for 
the  rest  of  our  days." 

"Hurrah!"  shouted  the  men,  mad  with  de- 
light. 

"And  hang  for  it,"  said  Nancy,  looking  first 
one  and  then  another  of  them  in  the  eye.  The 
shot  went  home.  Their  faces  fell,  that  is  to 
say  the  faces  of  those  who  could  not  go  home, 


THREE  HUNDRED  THOUSAND    207 

because  of  their  crimes  and  rogueries,  and  were 
now  reminded  of  them. 

"Nay,  but  with  gold  we  can  buy  pardons," 
cried  Trueheart  Jackson. 

"That's  so !  That's  so !"  chorused  the  men, 
happy  as  children  once  more.  "We  can  buy 
pardons." 

"I  can't  buy  a  pardon  in  England  for  what  I 
done,"  bemoaned  Jim  Rimble. 

"Why,  what  did  you  do,  Jim  Rimble  ?"  asked 
Nancy.  "Nay,  forgive  me,  'twas  hastily 
spoken.  I  meant  it  not." 

"I  stoled  a  sheep,"  replied  Jim  Rimble,  wag- 
ging his  head  and  rolling  his  eyes  at  her. 
"Thirty-eight  year  ago  it  were,  come  next 
Mich'elmas,  nor  have  I  seen  a  glimpse  o'  bonny 
England  from  that  there  day  to  this,  and,  God 
help  me,  I'll  risk  my  neck  and  go." 

"Buy  pardons!"  The  girl  put  warning, 
alarm,  a  sneer,  into  her  voice,  for  she  was 
frightened  at  the  turn  events  had  taken,  and 
the  disposition  the  men  showed  to  go  back 
home.  "They'll  strip  you  of  your  gold — and, 
when  that's  gone,  Tyburn !  There's  no  justice 
now  for  any  man,  in  England." 


208         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

"The  maid  is  right!"  roared  Jim  Rimble. 
"There  is  no  justice  now  in  England." 

This  set  the  men  nodding  and  bobbing  their 
heads  again. 

"And  would  you  be  content  with  such  poor 
spoils,  men,"  the  girl  went  on,  "when  another 
year,  aye,  another  six  months,  or  even  a  month, 
and  you  might  return  like  gentlemen  indeed, 
with  ten  times  the  treasure  we  have  here?" 

"The  maid  is  right !  The  maid  speaks  wis- 
dom," bellowed  Jim  Rimble.  "Ten  times  the 
treasure,  men!" 

There  was  another  outburst  of  cheering. 

"Nor  will  we  go  until  all  may  go  in  safety — 
until  we  have  riches  enough  to  make  the  ven- 
ture worth  the  risk!  What,  men?"  cried  the 
girl. 

"Aye,  aye !"  shouted  the  men. 

Nancy  glanced  up,  and  there  stood  Captain 
Stillingfleet  by  the  cabin  door,  a  look  in  his 
eyes  that  was  half  anger,  half  amusement. 

"And  how  will  you  navigate  the  ship,  my 
hearties?"  he  demanded.  The  noisy  demon- 
stration ceased,  and  the  men  fell  to  shuffling 
their  feet  and  looking  at  one  another  in  deep 


THREE  HUNDRED  THOUSAND    209 

perplexity.  "For  know  ye  withal,  men,  I  will 
have  no  part  in  this  piracy,  nor  will  I  aid  you 
in  any  way.  To  this  decision  will  I  adhere 
whatever  betides.  Go  on  with  thy  madness  as 
thou  wilt.  I  wash  my  hands  of  ye." 

The  men's  faces  fell  prodigiously  at  this, 
but  Nancy  said,  looking  the  Devon  man  very 
frankly  in  the  face : 

"We  have  a  pilot  among  us,  sir,  and  can  do 
without  you." 

"Aye,"  he  replied,  "the  Spaniard.  But  hark 
ye,  men,  an'  ye  put  one  of  these  Dons  at  your 
helm,  and  he  will  assuredly  take  ye  into  some 
Spanish  city,  nor  will  ye  know  better  until  it  is 
too  late  and  the  guns  of  the  fort  are  on  yt)u." 

"Nay,"  interrupted  Nancy,  "I  had  no 
thought  of  the  Spaniard." 

"Who,  then?" 

"Myself!" 

"You?" 

"I  know  the  use  of  charts  and  globes,  the 
application  of  Gunter's  scale  and  logarithms," 
she  answered  him,  smiling.  "I  can  take  an 
observation  as  well  as  you.  Nor  am  I  the  only 
one,  for  there  is  Pierre,  the  Frenchman,  who 


2IO 

hath  sailed  twice  to  the  Eastern  Indies  by  the 
Portuguese  route,  and  hath  made  many  voy- 
ages in  these  very  seas.  He  will  be  our  pilot. 
So,  which  is  it  to  be,  men — England  and  New- 
gate, or  the  Spanish  Main  and  riches?" 

Such  a  volley  of  roars  and  shouts  and  yells 
of  delight  ascended  at  this  brave  speech,  which 
fired  their  imaginations,  while  it  set  at  rest 
their  doubts,  that  the  whole  ship  throbbed  with 
it,  and  Barney,  aflame  with  excitement,  his  face 
one  great  expanse  of  joyous  mouth,  leaped 
upon  the  cabin  table,  and  tearing  off  his  cap, 
proposed  three  cheers.  They  were  given  with 
a  lusty  will. 

"Now,  men!"  cried  Nancy.  "I  set  you  free 
from  d'Ogeron's  castle — " 

"Aye,  that  you  did,"  they  chorused  back  with 
a  great  British  bellow. 

"Follow  me,  and  we  will  seek  purchase. 
But  know  ye,  withal,  I  am  the  captain  here, 
and  my  orders  will  be  obeyed  in  all  things. 
What  say  you,  men?  If  there  be  among  you 
one  who  will  not  abide  by  this,  now  is  his  time 
to  speak  and  step  forward  that  we  may  know 
just  how  we  stand." 


THREE  HUNDRED  THOUSAND     211 

Not  a  man  budged,  as  she  looked  each  in 
turn  full  in  the  eye. 

"It  is  agreed?  Then  I  will  draw  the  papers 
up,  and  all  shall  set  their  names  down  upon  it, 
with  the  shares  each  shall  have  according  to 
his  rank  and  just  deserts." 

She  seized  a  quill  and  a  sheet,  and  wrote  the 
agreement,  according  as  she  had  seen  them 
made  upon  the  papers  of  some  ship  setting 
forth  from  Plymouth  on  a  voyage  of  adven- 
ture, while  all  the  men,  save  those  on  watch, 
and  the  sick,  groaning  from  their  indiscre- 
tions, in  the  scuppers,  stood  around  and 
watched  her  eagerly.  When  it  was  finished 
she  read  it  off: 

"The  captain  (that  is  to  say,  myself)  hath  10  shares. 

The  lieutenant  (that  is  to  say,  Bras-de-Mort)  hath  8 
shares. 

The  master  (that  is  to  say,  Jim  Rimble)  hath  7 
shares. 

The  mate  hath  6  shares. 

The  gunner  hath  6  shares. 

The  boatswain  hath  6  shares. 

The  carpenter  hath  6  shares. 

The  gunner's  mate  hath  5  shares. 

The  quartermaster  hath  4  shares. 

The  cooper  hath  4  shares. 


212         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

The  cook  hath  4  shares. 

The  steward  hath  4  shares. 

The  coxswain  hath  2  shares. 

The  corporal  hath  2  shares. 

The  foremast  man  hath  i  share,  to  each." 

She  paused. 

"Shall  I  put  you  down  for  a  share,  Captain 
Stillingfleet?"  she  asked,  turning  upon  him 
suddenly. 

"Nay,"  said  he,  shaking  his  head.  "I  will 
have  naught  of  it." 

"I  will  make  you  Chief  Captain  by  Land,  at 
eight  shares." 

"Thou  art  embarked  upon  a  course  of  folly, 
I  tell  you,"  he  replied,  and  shook  his  head 
again. 

The  men  crowded  about  the  paper  now,  and 
put  their  names  upon  it,  most  of  them  with  a 
mark,  and  all  of  them  with  much  labor  and 
many  twists  of  the  tongue,  as  if  they  had  been 
writing  with  that  organ  instead  of  a  quill. 

"I  regret  your  decision,  Captain  Stilling- 
fleet," said  Nancy  to  him  again  while  the  men 
were  busy,  flashing  at  him  one  of  her  most 
winning  smiles  in  which  were  blended,  with 


THREE  HUNDRED  THOUSAND     213 

an  incongruity  that  was  wholly  feminine,  rail- 
lery and  scorn — and  admiration.  "I  would 
have  you  for  my  mate,  an'  you  were  willing." 

Such  a  look  lay  in  his  eyes  then  that  her 
cheeks  crimsoned  under  her  tan,  as  he  said, 
speaking  very  slowly  and  softly,  his  voice  full 
of  that  deep  tone  which  seemed  to  touch  some 
hidden  chord  in  the  very  depths  of  her  soul : 

"I  would  be  blithe  to  be  your  mate — and,  by 
the  living  God,  that  I  shall  be  in  my  own  good 
time."  She  lowered  her  eyes.  "As  for  em- 
barking in  this  mad  piracy,  I  wash  my  hands 
of  it,  but  I  will  speak  more  at  large  with  you 
upon  that  subject  later,  and,  mayhap,  I  shall 
drag  you  back  from  the  pit  into  which  you  are 
rushing  headlong." 

"My  thanks,  sir,  for  your  concern,"  she  an- 
swered, regaining  her  composure  and  nodding 
to  him  lightly.  "And  now,  men,  you  will  mus- 
ter before  the  mast  and  be  told  off  in  your 
proper  watches." 

With  a  parting  cheer  they  vanished,  slap- 
ping each  other  upon  the  back,  as  happy 
as  schoolboys.  Nancy  would  have  followed 
them,  but  Captain  Stillingfleet  detaining  her 


214          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

with  a  significant  glance,  she  remained  behind 
for  a  moment  to  speak  with  him. 

"Look  ye,  young  woman,"  said  he,  when 
they  were  alone,  leaning  across  the  cabin  table 
and  compelling  her  eyes  to  his  own,  "it  is  my 
duty  to  warn  you  that  you  are  putting  your 
head  in  a  noose." 

She  shrugged  her  shoulders  and  turned  to 
go.  He  stepped  between  her  and  the  door. 

"Listen  to  me,  you  must  and  shall/'  he  con- 
tinued. 

"  'Must'  and  'shall'  are  words  I  like  not, 
Captain  Stillingfleet,"  she  replied.  "I  have 
made  my  decision,  and  nothing  shall  shake  me 
in  that  determination.  As  for  piracy,  as  you 
call  it,  for  more  than  a  hundred  years  we  Eng- 
lish have  fought  the  Spaniards  below  the 
tropic,  whether  our  countries  were  at  war  in 
Europe  or  no.  What  won  honors  and  glory 
for  that  brave  knight  Sir  Francis  Drake  hath 
no  terrors  for  me." 

"Nay,  child,"  he  answered,  "but  Charles 
rules  at  Whitehall  now,  and  times  have 
changed." 

"And  will  change  again." 


THREE  HUNDRED  THOUSAND     215 

"By  St.  Bride!  You  talk  like  a  Puritan. 
I  say  times  have  changed.  I  know  that  Gov- 
ernor Modyford  at  Jamaica  hath  orders  to  put 
down  privateering  against  the  Spaniards  in  the 
Indies,  fo-r  I  have  seen  those  orders  with  my 
own  eyes,  in  London,  before  they  were  sent 
here  to  him." 

"Then  I  will  carry  on  a  war  against  the 
Spaniards  on  my  own  account/'  said  she,  at 
this  bristling  up.  ''With  thirty  English  at 
my  command — " 

"Moreover,"  he  interrupted,  "this  Spanish 
captain  from  whom  we  have  taken  this 
ship—" 

"An  English  ship,"  she  reminded  him. 

"Aye,  an  English  ship,  true  enough." 

"Although  thou  weren't  enough  of  a  seaman 
to  discover  the  fact  for  yourself." 

He  bit  his  lip,  then  went  on : 

"An  English  ship — placed  at  the  captain's 
disposal  by  King  Charles  himself.  For  this 
prisoner  of  ours — I  should  say  yours — as  he 
hath  told  me,  is  the  Don  Luis  de  Espinosa  who 
hath  long  been  his  Majesty's  confidential  agent 
in  Spain,  who  shared  his  exile  in  France  and 


216         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

Holland,  and  who  hath  now  concluded  his  busi- 
ness in  New  Spain,  where  he  hath  had  large 
interests  and  honors  under  the  Spanish  crown, 
and  is  now  on  his  way  to  England  to  settle 
down  as  an  English  gentleman  on  certain  es- 
tates in  Devonshire  that  have  been  bestowed 
upon  him  by  his  Majesty,  none  others,  indeed, 
than  those  belonging  to  the  rebel  Chilling- 
worth,  of  whom  I  spoke  to  you  not  long  since." 

"Prithee,  and  what  is  this  to  me?"  asked 
Nancy,  with  a  drawl  in  her  voice,  a  vast  indif- 
ference, as  if  the  blow  had  not  told  home. 

"And  so,"  added  Captain  Stillingfleet,  "by 
going  back  to  England  we  would  have  served 
all  our  interests  and  pleased  the  king  to  boot." 

"Would  we  have  served  the  interests  of  the 
men?  You  yourself  did  tell  me  that  half  of 
them  would  hang  on  Tyburn  did  they  go  back 
and  show  their  noses  in  London.  Nay,  I  will 
not  play  them  false,  nor  deceive  them  in  any 
way  soever.  My  mind  is  made  up,  Captain 
Stillingfleet.  My  word  hath  been  passed  to 
my  countrymen  here,  and  I  will  abide  with 
them,  and  we  shall  go  away  upon  our  own  lay, 


THREE  HUNDRED  THOUSAND    217 

until  we  have  found  riches  to  buy  our  pardons 
beyond  a  doubt." 

He  shook  his  head  at  her,  at  this,  as  if  at  a 
loss  to  make  her  out. 

"Why,  odsfish !"  said  he,  pounding  the  table 
with  his  fist.  "But  a  few  hours  ago  you  were 
hot  for  going  back  to  England." 

"I  have  but  availed  myself  of  a  woman's 
inalienable  prerogative,"  she  smiled. 

"A  what?"  he  cried,  looking  at  her  in  per- 
plexity. 

"The  right  to  change  my  mind.  I  am  now 
killing  two  birds  with  one  stone,  where  I  had 
thought  there  was  but  one,"  she  added,  think- 
ing of  her  father's  estates,  her  own  girlhood 
home,  that  she  could  remember  but  dimly,  but 
loved,  and  now  so  strangely  had  an  oppor- 
tunity to  save,  temporarily  at  least,  from  the 
alien  usurper  to  whom  they  had  been  awarded 
by  the  king.  "Two  birds,  Captain  Stilling- 
fleet,"  she  finished  seriously,  and  turned  to 
leave  him  just  as  the  Spanish  girl  came  into  the 
cabin,  very  lovely  in  a  gown  of  black  and  red. 

Yvonne  looked  at  Nancy  without  seeing  her, 


218          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

but  in  her  languid  eyes  were  smiles  for  the 
English  captain,  smiles  which  Nancy  knew 
meant  treachery  and  deceit,  so  that  she  pressed 
her  teeth  into  her  lip  at  the  sight  of  them,  but 
which  he,  poor  fool,  saw  only  as  the  smiles 
of  a  woman  for  a  man.  So  he  smiled  back  at 
her. 

Whereat  Nancy,  with  the  majesty  of  a 
queen,  for  all  her  sailor's  breeches  and  ragged 
shirt,  made  an  imperious  exit,  yet  lingered  long 
enough  to  call  back  over  her  shoulder — 

"I  began  with  an  ambition  to  kill  one  bird, 
Captain  Stillingfleet,  but  found  there  were  two 
— and  have  now  discovered  a  third." 

A  speech  which  mystified  the  poor  fellow 
more  than  ever. 


CHAPTER  XII 
THE  PIRATES'  ISLAND 

That  noon  Nancy  and  Pierre  had  an  observa- 
tion, and  finding  themselves  in  the  latitude  of 
i8°4i"  N.,  and  longitude  75°i8"  W.,  the  girl 
called  a  council  of  the  men  before  the  mast  and 
gave  each  among  them  a  chance  to  express 
his  desires.  The  sick  men  had  recovered  from 
the  effects  of  their  gluttony,  and  having  fixed 
their  names  to  the  agreement,  and  been  allotted 
their  share  of  the  spoils  they  had  already  taken, 
were  as  eager  as  the  rest  to  scour  the  seas  in 
quest  of  more. 

The  question  of  what  to  do  with  the  Span- 
iards under  the  hatches  was  uppermost  in 
Nancy's  mind,  and  speaking  of  the  matter  to 
the  men,  all  agreed  to  her  proposal  that  they 
should  be  set  ashore  where  they  could  find  food 
and  water  and  thus  sustain  themselves. 

"So,  lads,"  said  Nancy,  "since  we  are  all  of 
a  mind  on  this  point,  our  first  dispute,  what 
say  you  to  putting  these  Dons  on  the  main  of 

219 


220          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

Cuba,  from  which,  as  the  chart  shows,  we  are 
not  far  distant?" 

"Well,  miss,  I  mean  captain,  asking  your 
pardon,"  said  Jim  Rimble  at  this,  rolling  his 
eyes  at  her  so  earnestly  that  she  had  to  bite 
her  lips  to  keep  from  smiling  in  his  rugged 
face,  "but  what's  the  use  of  getting  a  hornets' 
nest  around  our  ears,  as  you  might  say,  when 
there  ain't  exactly  any  need  of  it?" 

"Why,  what  mean  you  by  getting  a  hornets' 
nest  around  our  ears,  Jim  Rimble?"  demanded 
Nancy,  glancing  from  him  to  Pierre,  whose 
eyes  were  snapping  and  blinking  away  at  a 
furious  rate  through  the  bushy  hedge  of  whisk- 
ers that  he  seemed  to  be  hiding  behind. 

"Sacre!  Mademoiselle''  interjected  the 
Frenchman,  "Monsieur  Jean  Rumble  he — " 

"Jim  Rimble,  you  frog,"  roared  the  master; 
"not  Jean  Rumble." 

"Jean  Rumble,  then,  monsieur,  if  you  will 
have  it  that  way,"  replied  Pierre,  shrugging  his 
shoulders,  while  Jim  Rimble  gritted  his  teeth. 
"He  is  right,  no  ?  The  fact  that  we  are  cruis- 
ing in  these  waters  will  come  to  the  ears  of  the 
Spaniards  quickly  enough  as  it  is." 


THE  PIRATES'  ISLAND         221 

"That  it  will,"  bellowed  Jim  Rimble,  "that 
it  will,  or  I  will  kiss  a  pig." 

"If  we  put  these  Dons  on  the  Main,  why, 
and  they  have  legs;  haven't  they?"  demanded 
Trueheart  Jackson.  "Then  won't  they  just 
naturally  walk  off?" 

"Well,  and  what  if  they  do  ?"  replied  Nancy. 
"We  shall  be  well  rid  of  them." 

"Aye,  but  suppose  they  get  to  one  of  their 
settlements,"  broke  in  Jim  Rimble,  wagging  his 
head  at  a  rate  that  threatened  to  send  it  any 
minute  rolling  into  the  scuppers,  "and  give  the 
alarm?  We  would  be  undone,  I'm  thinking." 

"Then,  what  is  your  plan,  Jim  Rimble?" 

"A  island,  miss,  I  mean  captain,  asking 
your  pardon.  A  small  island,  say  we,  eh, 
mates?" 

The  men  grinned  their  approval  of  this  sage 
advice,  and  Nancy,  seeing  the  wisdom  of  it, 
said: 

"Very  well,  men,  an'  as  you  are  familiar  in 
these  parts,  no  doubt  you  have  such  a  snug 
island  in  mind." 

"Well,  miss,  captain,  I  mean,  asking  your 
pardon,"  replied  Jim  Rimble,  "and  that  we 


222          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

have,  to  be  sure — or  I  will  kiss  a  pig.  Me 
and  my  mates  have  talked  this  over,  and  we 
think  as  how  Cow  Island  would  just  about  fit 
the  bill." 

"Cow  Island?" 

"Aye,  'tis  but  a  short  league  off  the  south- 
west horn  of  the  main  of  Hispaniola,  and  snug 
enough,  too,  and  we  can  get  wood  and  water 
there — and  then!" 

He  rolled  his  eyes  at  her  and  at  the  men  in  a 
most  grotesque  but  significant  manner,  so  that 
they  burst  into  a  roar  of  cheers. 

"Cow  Island  it  is  then,"  said  Nancy,  and 
gave  her  orders  to  Pierre,  'SO  that,  coming 
about,  they  stood  away  S.  E.  by  E. 

All  the  night  following  and  the  next  day, 
bearing  away  more  to  the  east,  they  held  this 
course  in  varying  winds,  and  finally  fell  with 
the  island,  but,  rounding  the  point  into  the 
harbor,  a  shot  came  across  her  bow,  and  rush- 
ing on  deck  Nancy  beheld  at  anchor  in  the  cove 
seven  ships,  of  which  the  largest  was  a  man-o'- 
war,  a  frigate  of  thirty-four  guns.  They  were 
under  the  lee  of  the  island.  The  sails  hung 
lifeless.  It  was  impossible  to  go  about  upon 


THE  PIRATES'  ISLAND         223 

the  other  tack.  The  men  aboard  the  frigate 
were  springing  to  quarters  when  the  girl,  her 
eyes  aflame  with  excitement,  called  out  to  her 
men  who  had  tumbled  below  to  the  gun-deck: 

"Avast  there,  men,  they're  English !" 

She  hauled  down  the  Spanish  Ancient  now 
and  ran  up  the  British  ensign  with  her  own 
hands.  There  was  scarcely  wind  enough  to 
spread  her  folds,  but  the  men  aboard  the 
frigate  and  the  other  ships,  too,  recognized  the 
colors,  and  a  great  cheer  came  across  the 
waters  to  her.  So  they  came  to,  and  drifting 
into  the  cove,  came  to  an  anchor  in  eight  fath- 
oms. 

The  men  were  not  long  in  making  out  now 
that  the  strangers  they  had  come  upon  so  sud- 
denly were  friends  of  their  own  kidney,  so 
that  Nancy,  fearful  for  the  treasure '  in  the 
hold,  and  the  danger  they  were  in  of  one  of 
the  Spaniards  disclosing  the  secret,  decided 
to  put  a  bold  face  upon  the  matter.  She  or- 
dered out  the  captain's  gig. 

"But  hark  ye,  men,"  said  she,  speaking  in  a 
low  tone,  for  they  were  now  under  the  scrutiny 
of  the  other  ships,  "say  no  word  to  these 


224         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

strangers  of  the  riches  we  have  between  decks 
here,  for  though  they  be  our  countrymen,  may- 
hap they  would  rob  us  with  as  easy  a  mind  as 
though  we  were  the  Viceroy  himself.  Nor 
say  any  word  soever  of  the  Spaniards  we  have 
here,  lest  we  lose  at  last  what  we  have  already 
gained  at  so  much  pains." 

"The  maid  speaks  truly,"  cried  Jim  Rimble 
in  half  a  roar,  as  though  he  tried  to  whisper, 
and  there  was  a  nodding  of  heads  among  the 
men,  so  that  Nancy  felt  that  they  could  be  re- 
lied upon. 

"And  now,  men,"  she  went  on,  "do  you  re- 
move the  Spanish  captain  and  his  daughter 
from  their  cabin  and  put  them  in  the  hold  with 
their  countrymen.  Captain  Stillingfleet,"  she 
added,  coolly,  turning  upon  him  suddenly, 
"since  he  who  is  not  with  us  is  against  us,  you 
will  oblige  me  by  stepping  below — and  as 
quickly  as  may  be." 

"And  what  if  I  refuse  ?"  he  asked,  his  Saxon 
eyes  smiling  at  her  quizzically. 

"Why,  then,  sir,"  says  she,  "that  ship  yon- 
der is  an  English  ship  of  war,  an'  I  make  no 
mistake." 


THE  PIRATES'  ISLAND         225 

"Thou  art  quite  right,"  says  he.  "It  is  an 
English  frigate,  for  'tis  H.  M.  S.  Oxford,  as 
I  should  know  well  enough,  for  I  have  served 
upon  her.  So  you  see  you  have  come  to  the 
end  of  your  rope  already,  as  I  knew  thou 
wouldst,  though  much  sooner,  I  confess,  than 
I  had  expected." 

"Nay,  Master  Stillingfleet,"  she  answered 
him  very  quietly,  "thou  art  a  poor  prophet,  for 
I  have  just  begun,  and  you  will  go  below,  and 
quietly,  and  make  no  alarm  or  I  will  shoot  thee 
dead  upon  the  deck,  for  that  thou  shalt  not  be- 
tray me  to  this  ship  of  war  I  am  firmly  re- 
solved." 

She  suddenly  pulled  a  cocked  pistol  from  her 
bosom,  and  pointed  it  at  his  head. 

"Fie,  Mistress  Nancy,"  said  he,  gazing  at 
her  like  a  great  overgrown  schoolboy,  "you 
would  not  shoot,  and  that  I  know  very  well 
— so  have  done  with  this  playing." 

"Give  me  no  cause  to  prove  my  determina- 
tion to  you,  I  pray  you,  sir,"  she  replied  as 
quietly  as  before,  her  face  suddenly  going  pale 
beneath  her  tan.  "Were  my  own  life  only  at 
stake  that  I  truly  would  not,  but  there  are 


226         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

things  in  this  business  you  do  not  comprehend, 
and  for  those  things  I  would  kill  you  were  it 
necessary.  Go  below,  sir,  I  beg  of  you." 

"By  St.  Bride!  That  I  will  never  do,"  he 
replied,  and  took  a  step  towards  her,  looking 
into  the  barrel  of  her  pistol,  and,  beyond  that, 
into  the  depths  of  her  blue  eyes. 

But  Bras-de-Mort  slipping  up  upon  him  at 
this — they  were  on  the  side  of  the  great  cabin 
away  from  the  ships — thrust  the  muzzle  of  a 
musket  into  his  face,  with  so  unmistakable  a 
look  in  his  snapping  black  eyes  that,  giving  one 
glance  about  the  deck,  and  seeing  no  friendly 
countenance  there,  Stillingfleet  presently 
turned  upon  his  heel  and  went  below,  and  the 
hatches  were  all  battened  down  and  a  guard 
set. 

The  gig  being  now  at  the  ladder  in  the  waist, 
Captain  Nancy  went  into  her,  with  Jim  Rimble, 
and  Bras-de-Mort,  Trueheart  Jackson  and  the 
boy  Barney  at  the  oars,  and  they  pulled  over  to 
the  frigate. 

What  was  their  astonishment  then,  as  they 
went  over  the  side  and  were  greeted  by  one 
who  seemed  to  be  in  command,  and  his  subordi- 


THE  PIRATES'  ISLAND         227 

nates  who  were  gathered  at  the  rail,  to  see 
seated  upon  a  coil  of  rope  Yellow  Eyes,  the 
tongueless  man,  his  sinister  orbs  like  molten 
gold  glaring  at  them  with  the  ferocity  of  a  wild 
beast,  his  hairless  head  glistening  in  the  bril- 
liant tropical  sun  like  some  fleshless  skull. 

"Faith!  Mademoiselle,"  cried  Barney,  "'tis 
that  devil  again,  the  man  with  the  yellow  eyes." 

But  she  had  seen  him,  too,  and  stood  there 
silent,  with  parted  lips,  nor  heeded  the  greet- 
ing of  a  tall,  handsome  but  slightly  over-stout 
man  of  thirty  or  thereabouts,  with  a  heavy 
but  far  from  unpleasing  Welsh  face  and  a  look 
of  great  power  and  determination  in  his  com- 
manding eyes  and  strong  mouth  and  chin. 

Trueheart  Jackson  nudged  her  slyly. 

"  'Tis  Henry  Morgan,"  he  whispered. 
"Hast  heard  of  him?  The  greatest  among  us 
in  these  seas  I  warrant  you,  aye,  the  greatest 
since  Drake.  I  was  with  him  at  Porto  Bello." 

Nancy  turned  to  him  and  took  his  hand  at 
his  greeting,  and  something  that  she  saw  in 
his  eyes  made  her  suddenly  conscious  of  her 
boys'  clothes,  so  that  she  stammered  and 
blushed  before  him.  He,  as  if  to  cover  her 


228          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

embarrassment,  presented  her  then  to  Captain 
Edward  Collier,  of  his  Majesty's  navy,  who, 
Nancy  presently  understood,  was  in  command 
of  the  Oxford.  But  why  he  should  be  there, 
among  these  men  so  plainly  of  another  and 
more  lawless  trade,  she  could  by  no  means  dis- 
cover. 

Captain  Morgan  greeted  Jackson  and  Jim 
Rimble  familiarly  as  old  friends,  and,  while 
she  spoke  with  Captain  Collier,  the  latter  draw- 
ing the  Welshman  aside  whispered  something 
to  him,  whereat  he  straightened  up  and  stared 
sharply  at  the  girl,  admiration  deepening  in  his 
eyes. 

"We  are  well  met,  madame,"  said  he,  taking 
off  his  hat  and  giving  her  a  great  bow.  "We 
touched  at  Tortuga  on  our  way  thither,  to  pick 
up  a  few  of  the  French  there  who  occasionally 
join  with  us  in  our  enterprises,  and  thus  I 
learned  of  your  great  feat.  So  you  are  the 
English  girl  who  threw  the  sand  in  old 
d'Ogeron's  eyes  and  got  clean  away,  with  his 
ship  and  his  prisoners  to  boot!  'Sdeath! 
You  had  the  island  in  a  turmoil  when  we  ar- 
rived there,  and  but  for  the  fact  of  our  great 


THE  PIRATES'  ISLAND         229 

force  the  governor  would  have  taken  out  his 
spite  on  us.  He  was  like  a  wild  man,  yet 
sounded  your  praises  withal — nor  do  I  blame 
him." 

It  was  Nancy's  turn  to  blush  anew  at  this, 
and,  when  he  offered  her  his  arm,  gallantly, 
she  took  it  without  a  word  and  walked  beside 
him  to  the  cabin. 

"And  right  glad  am  I  of  this  meeting,  too, 
eh,  Collier,"  he  adcfed.  "We  will  need  this 
stout  ship  she  brings — though  I  confess  the 
brigantine  Baptiste,  which  I  thought  I  knew 
full  well—" 

"  'Tis  not  the  same,"  said  Nancy  impul- 
sively, and  then  wished  she  had  not  spoken. 
"The  Baptiste  was  lost  in  the  storm,  and  this 
is  a  ship  which  we,  in  our  necessity,  did  take." 

"What!"  cried  Captain  Morgan,  standing 
off  and  surveying  her  dramatically.  "A  good 
beginning,  upon  my  soul,  Collier!  You  see," 
he  added  to  Nancy,  "we  are  met  here  in  an- 
ticipation of  an  assault  upon  Maracaibo,  on 
the  Main,  and  for  this  purpose  need  another 
ship  at  least,  and  more  men." 

"But  that,"  said  she  in  considerable  surprise, 


230         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

"is  such  an  adventure  as  is  no  longer  coun- 
tenanced by  his  Majesty,  so  that  I  am  in  vast 
perplexity  at  finding  you  thus  upon  one  of  his 
Majesty's  ships  of  war.  Assuredly  we  can- 
not be  at  war  now  with  Spain." 

"Nay,"  interrupted  Captain  Collier,  with  a 
sidelong  glance  at  her  boyish  costume  and  the 
tangled  mop  of  golden  hair  tumbling  from  be- 
neath her  cap,  "we  are  always  at  war  with 
Spain  below  the  tropic." 

"But  I  am  told  that  Governor  Modyford,  at 
Jamaica,  hath  orders  to  prevent  privateering  in 
the  Indies,"  she  persisted. 

"Had  orders,"  corrected  Captain  Collier. 
"They  have  been  modified.  Odsfish !  A  neat 
jest,  hey,  Morgan?  Ha — ha — ha!  Didst  hear 
that — Modyford's  orders  modified.  By  my 
soul!  'Tis  good  enough  to  tell  to  the  king, 
himself.  Have  you  no  sense  of  humor,  Mor- 
gan?" 

"Only  a  fair  one,  Collier,"  replied  Morgan 
drily.  "But  what  he  hath  said  is  true 
enough,"  he  added,  turning  to  Nancy.  "I  can- 
not myself  keep  track  of  his  Majesty's  weather- 
cock politics,  now  interfering  with  our  busi- 


THE  PIRATES'  ISLAND         231 

ness  in  these  seas,  and  again  countenancing 
our  private  warfare  against  Spain;  nor  do  I 
concern  myself  much  with  them,  for  it  has  been 
England's  policy  since  Drake's  time  to  give 
sugar  pills  to  the  Spanish  Ambassador  at  Lon- 
don, while  winking  at  what  goes  on  in  this 
part  of  the  world.  So  I  never  know  whether  a 
treaty  is  in  force  or  no,  and  so  have  dismissed 
the  subject  from  my  mind.  Three  months  ago, 
at  Spain's  complaint,  they  were  all  for  hanging 
at  Port  Royal  some  of  the  best  men  who  have 
ever  fought  with  me  against  the  Papists. 
And  now  for  some  mysterious  reason  all  this 
hath  been  changed,  and  Collier  is  to  go  with 
me  to  Maracaibo,  clandestinely,  but  nathless 
he  is  to  go." 

"I  do  not  pretend  to  know  all  that  goes  on 
in  his  Majesty's  cabinet,"  said  Captain  Collier. 
"Adventuring  against  the  Spaniard  was  vigor- 
ously put  down  for  a  time.  But  now  it  seems 
the  Spanish  Ambassador  at  London  hath  been 
hoodwinked  again,  and  things  are  to  be  as  be- 
fore— until  his  Majesty  is  browbeaten  once 
more  by  the  Spanish  crown.  I  myself  have 
lately  brought  new  orders  to  Jamaica,  and  this 


232          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

expedition  has  been  secretly  fitted  out  there 
by  the  governor's  orders.  When  we  have  dealt 
this  blow  to  the  Spanish  power  in  the  Americas, 
you  shall  find  a  market  for  your  spoils  at  Lon- 
don Bridge,  an'  you  wish  it." 

"You  inform  me  on  a  point  I  was  much  in 
ignorance  on,"  replied  Nancy. 

"Join  us,"  said  Captain  Morgan,  "an'  your 
exploit  will  be  winked  at.  We  have  absolu- 
tion in  advance.  The  captain  here  hath  a 
pocketful  of  pardons  in  blank  for  such  as  may 
need  the  boon.  But  join  us  in  the  round-house, 
and  we  will  talk  more  at  large." 

They  were  at  the  cabin  door  now.  But  be- 
fore they  entered,  Nancy  nodded  towards  Yel- 
low Eyes  who  still  sat  upon  his  coil  of  rope. 

"How  came  you  by  the  dumb  man?"  she 
asked. 

"Why,  as  to  that,  how  did  you  know  that  he 
is  dumb?"  asked  Captain  Morgan,  throwing 
at  her  a  sharp  look  from  beneath  his  heavy 
brows. 

"He  is  no  stranger  to  me,"  Nancy  replied, 
while  heartily  wishing  she  had  not  been  so 
quick  to  speak. 


THE  PIRATES'  ISLAND          233 

"What  know  you  of  him  ?" 

"He  stowed  himself  in  the  forward  hold," 
cried  Barney,  who  had  been  aching  for  a 
chance  to  enter  the  conversation,  and  until  then 
had  seen  no  opening,  "so  we  cut  him  adrift — 
that  is,  Nancy  did — and  here  he  is." 

"So  Nancy  cut  him  adrift!"  laughed  Cap- 
tain Morgan,  a  twinkle  in  his  eye.  "I  see  you 
know  something  of  the  man,  madame,  although 
the  explanation  of  the  lad  is  not  over  clear. 
I  picked  him  up  in  an  open  boat,  and  all  but 
dead  of  thirst." 

"Aye,  we  know  him,"  said  Barney,  his 
freckled  face  aglow  with  delight  to  be  talking 
thus  with  the  great  Captain  Morgan.  "Why, 
'twas  he  who  betrayed  us  at  the  governor's 
castle,  and  gave  the  alarm,  when  we  escaped 
from  the  fort  on  the  hill." 

Captain  Morgan's  face  grew  black  as  a 
thunder-cloud  at  this. 

"A  traitor,  then !"  he  cried.  "We  give  short 
shrift  to  such." 

He  called  to  his  quartermaster. 

"Throw  this  rogue  below,"  he  ordered 
roughly. 


234         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

"Nay,  have  pity  on  him,  sir,  I  beg  of  you," 
said  Nancy,  laying  her  hand  upon  the  captain's 
arm,  "for  though  he  hath  been  the  source  of  all 
my  misery,  my  heart  swells  for  him — he  is  so 
wretched  with  his  great  affliction  I  cannot  bear 
the  thought  of  his  suffering.  Spare  him  for 
my  sake,  for  it  was  I  who  cast  him  adrift  in 
the  longboat,  so  that  he  would  have  perished 
but  for  the  accident  of  his  discovery,  and  that 
would  have  been  a  sin  upon  my  head." 

"She  talks  like  a  Puritan!"  cried  Captain 
Morgan. 

But  he  gave  an  order  to  one  of  the  men  that 
Yellow  Eyes  should  not  be  injured,  and  the 
dumb  man  was  hauled  away  between  two  sea- 
men, kicking  and  struggling,  and  carried  into 
the  hold.  Then  Captain  Morgan  led  the  way 
into  the  cabin  where  a  great  company  of  offi- 
cers of  the  fleet  were  gathered,  eating  and 
drinking. 

Nancy,  in  the  place  of  honor  at  the  head  of 
the  table,  between  the  two  captains,  was  obliged 
to  tell  the  story  of  the  escape  of  the  English 
prisoners  from  the  French  at  Tortuga,  and  of 
the  part  she  had  played.  When  she  had  fin- 


THE  PIRATES'  ISLAND         235 

ished,  Captain  Collier  ordered  a  salute  of  thirty 
guns  to  be  fired  in  her  honor. 

While  the  cannon  roared,  she  studied  the 
faces  of  her  companions,  and  gave  a  start  as 
she  recognized  a  familiar  figure,  the  little  monk 
whom  she  had  seen  first  in  the  market  square 
at  Lille,  and  then  upon  the  ship  in  which  she 
had  been  kidnaped,  the  little  monk  whom  she 
had  left  apparently  asleep  beneath  d'Ogeron's 
table. 

"How  came  he  here?"  she  asked,  pointing 
him  out. 

"Who?" 

"The  monk." 

"Monk!"  roared  Morgan,  choking  with 
laughter.  "Little  Cochinillo?  Why,  madame, 
that  is  a  better  jest  than  Captain  Collier's. 
Did  he  fool  you  with  his  cowl  and  habit? 
That  is  the  greatest  rascal  unhung — three 
times  a  galley  slave,  twice  branded.  But  a 
bright  and  happy  soul,  withal,  and  one  of  my 
men  who  fell  wounded  at  Porto  Bello  and  was 
sent  off  to  Spain,  but  escaped  from  the  hulks 
and  so  found  his  way  back  to  the  rendezvous, 
with  the  aid  of  his  disguise,  and  indeed  he  has 


236          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

picked  up  a  lot  of  the  ritual  at  odd  times  and 
serves  us  very  well  in  that  capacity." 

The  monk,  for  so  she  called  him,  seeing 
himself  under  discussion,  arose  unsteadily  to 
his  feet,  a  bottle  in  one  hand  and  a  gobbet  of 
greasy  meat  in  the  other,  glibly  told  how 
d'Ogeron  had  commanded  him  to  marry  him 
to  the  girl,  and  how  he  had  indignantly  re- 
fused, and  declared  most  solemnly  that  he  had 
aided  in  her  escape,  whereupon  Captain  Mor- 
gan, Nancy  making  no  contradiction,  de- 
manded that  a  salute  be  fired  in  his  honor. 

Then  Barney  recounted  the  story  of  the 
treachery  of  Yellow  Eyes,  and  how  he  had 
wanted  to  go  back  and  gag  him.  Whereat  the 
jovial  pirates  roared  with  laughter,  and  Cap- 
tain Morgan,  in  his  hand  a  handsome  silver 
goblet  that  he  had  stolen  from  the  governor 
of  Porto  Bello,  drank  his  health  in  rosa 
solis,  a  strong'  punch  brandy,  spices  and 
hot  water,  and  ordered  a  salute  of  ten  guns  in 
his  honor.  And  Barney,  overcome  by  the 
honor,  his  whole  face  in  complete  eclipse,  so 
widely  distended  were  his  joyous  jaws,  leaped 
upon  the  table  and  led  the  buccaneers  in  a 


THE  PIRATES'  ISLAND          237 

round  of  mighty  cheers  that  made  the  frigate 
shiver. 

The  admiration  in  the  glances  that  Captain 
Morgan  bestowed  upon  her  made  Nancy  feel 
ill  at  ease.  But  she  was  taken  all  aback,  when 
suddenly  he  jumped  up,  and  filling  the  silver 
goblet  proposed  her  health. 

"Look  ye,  monk,"  said  he,  draining  his 
tankard  at  a  single  toss,  "out  with  thy  prayer- 
book,  thou  gospel-slinging  shark,  and  read  the 
marriage  service.  By  the  Gods !  This  Devon 
maid  doth  please  me  hugely.  She  is  the  first 
ever  I  thought  fit  to  be  the  wife  of  Henry  Mor- 
gan." 

"Nay,  sir,"  said  she  at  this,  her  eyes  filled 
with  alarm,  and  drawing  away  from  him  as  he 
bent  down  and  sought  to  take  her  hand,  "not 
so  fast,  I  pray  you,  and,  besides,  this  is  no 
priest,  but  an  impostor." 

"Think  on  it,  madame!"  cried  he,  waving 
aside  her  objections.  "Thou  art  a  woman 
after  my  own  heart — fearless  and  resourceful. 
Thou  hast  taken  thy  first  ship  as  neatly  as  L 
could  have  done  it  myself,  and  that  thou  art 
here  with  thy  men  as  their  captain  showeth  me 


238          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

that  thou  hast  ability  withal.  Join  with  me 
and  we  will  scourge  these  Dons  until  they 
come  to  know  who  are  masters  in  the  Indies. 

"Nay,"  he  added,  when  she  would  have 
stopped  him,  "have  no  fear  as  to  the  conse- 
quences. For  the  time,  the  good  old  days  of 
Drake  and  Hawkins  have  come  back  once  more. 
Follow  me,  and  I  will  lead  thee  to  riches  and 
fame.  Aye,  I  will  make  thee  a  Lady,  for  I  do 
tell  thee,  madame,  when  I  return  from  this 
expedition  upon  which  I  am  now  setting  forth, 
I  shall  kneel  at  his  Majesty's  feet  and  he  will 
say  to  me,  'Arise,  Sir  Henry  Morgan.' ' 

The  officers,  who  had  been  listening  to  him 
with  the  attention  that  men  ever  give  to  those 
in  authority  above  them,  broke  into  cheers  at 
this  brave  speech,  and  Barney,  leaping  up 
and  proposing  a  salute  of  thirty  guns  in 
honor  of  their  chief,  and  thirty  more  for  his 
gracious  majesty  King  Charles,  such  a  volley- 
ing began  again  as  showed  these  pirates  to  be 
as  wasteful  of  their  powder  as,  when  they  did 
have  it,  they  were  with  their  money. 

"Show  her  the  papers  you  have,  Collier," 
Captain  Morgan  added,  when  he  could  make 


THE  PIRATES'  ISLAND         239 

himself  heard  between  guns.  "They  will  set 
her  mind  at  rest,  I  warrant  you.  Secret  in- 
structions these  be,  madame,  for  the  benefit  of 
Englishmen  here  on  the  Spanish  Main,  with 
pardons  in  blank  for  those  that  need  them — 
a  sort  of  general  amnesty,  indeed." 

Captain  Collier  passed  her  then  a  packet  of 
papers,  bearing  the  royal  seal.  Nancy  had 
just  taken  them,  when,  with  a  cracking  roar 
and  a  great  burst  of  flame  which  seemed  to  en- 
velop the  whole  ship,  and  filled  the  round-house 
with  heavy  clouds  of  suffocating  smoke,  the 
forward  magazine  exploded.  The  first  explo- 
sion was  followed  almost  immediately,  before 
the  company  could  gain  their  feet,  by  another 
more  terrible  than  the  first,  and  the  frigate 
seemed  torn  asunder  by  the  force  of  it.  The 
deck  rose,  fell  away  and  crumbled  beneath 
them ;  the  mighty  timbers  were  blown  in  all  di- 
rections. 

Of  what  happened  after  the  first  explosion 
Nancy  never  had  a  clear  idea.  Mechanically 
she  thrust  Captain  Collier's  papers  into  her 
shirt.  Tongues  of  flame  leaped  toward  her  out 
of  the  billows  of  dense  black  smoke. 


240          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

She  shut  her  eyes  in  terror,  and,  when  she 
opened  them,  she  was  in  the  depths  of  the  sea, 
entangled  in  a  mass  of  wreckage.  She  freed 
herself,  and  then,  her  lungs  bursting  with  pain, 
shot  to  the  surface. 

As  she  came  up,  gasping  and  blowing,  there, 
not  a  dozen  strokes  from  her,  was  Barney, 
astride  the  shattered  end  of  the  mainmast. 
She  swam  towards  him,  and  he  dragged  her  to 
a  place  of  safety  beside  him. 

All  about  were  debris  and  wreckage  of  every 
description,  with  here  and  there  a  man's  head 
showing  above  the  waves.  As  she  looked,  the 
shattered  hull  of  the  frigate,  in  one  last  con- 
vulsion, went  down  by  the  head,  -to  be  seen 
again  no  more. 

Small  boats  put  out  immediately  from  the 
other  vessels  at  anchor  in  the  cove;  and  one 
from  the  Snapdragon,  as  they  saw,  pulled  to- 
wards them. 

"Faith,  mademoiselle,"  asked  the  Irish  lad, 
when  he  had  emptied  himself  of  the  salt  water, 
"what  happened?" 

"The  ship  blew  up,  Barney,"  answered  the 
girl,  "and  'tis  only  by  the  mercy  of  God  that 


THE  PIRATES'  ISLAND         241 

we  are  alive.  Few  on  board  of  her,  I  think, 
could  have  survived  it." 

"Did  Captain  Morgan,  do  you  suppose?" 
he  asked  after  a  bit. 

"Why,  I  do  not  know  as  to  that — I  cannot 
see  him  anywhere." 

"Would  you  care  if  he  didn't?" 

"Care,  lad?" 

"Aye." 

"Of  course  I'd  care,  Barney." 

"Well,"  he  replied,  giving  her  a  queer  look, 
"but  I  know  one  who  wouldn't." 

"And  who  might  that  be,  Barney?" 

"Captain  Stillingfleet.  Faith,  he'd  be  wild 
if  he  knew  what  Captain  Morgan  said  to  you 
just  now." 

"Be  quiet,  Barney,"  said  the  girl  sharply. 
"Captain  Stillingfleet  cares  naught  what  Cap- 
tain Morgan  thinks  of  me." 

"Oh,  and  doesn't  he  now  ?" 

"Say  no  more  of  that  to  me,  lad."  Then, 
after  a  pause,  "Barney,  canst  keep  a  secret?" 

"Aye,  that  I  can." 

"Then  I  know  who  blew  up  the  ship." 

"Blew  it  up?" 


242          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

"Aye,  blew  it  up,   Barney — for   revenge." 

"Revenge!  You  mean — "  he  lowered  his 
voice  to  the  most  mysterious  whisper  at  his 
command — "you  mean  Captain  Stillingfl eet  ?" 

"Thou  art  too  ridiculous,  Barney.  Of 
course  not !  It  was  Yellow  Eyes." 

"The  dumb  man?" 

"I  feel  sure  of  it.     Look,  there  he  is  now!" 

The  boy  turned  as  she  pointed,  and  there 
struggling  in  the  waves  close  by  them,  clinging 
to  a  spar,  was  the  tongueless  man,  a  great  cut 
over  his  temple  from  which  the  blood  gushed, 
staining  the  water  all  around  him.  A  look  of 
hatred  blazed  from  his  eyes. 

The  longboat  from  the  Snapdragon  was 
coming  up  rapidly  now,  with  Cherie,  her  face 
as  pale  as  death,  crouching  in  the  bow,  and 
searching  the  wreckage  with  restless  eyes. 
They  pointed  the  dumb  man  out  to  her,  and  he 
was  hauled  aboard.  As  they  came  on  now  to 
where  they  clung  to  the  mainmast,  the  French 
girl  cried : 

"Thank  God,  you  are  saved !  But  where  is 
my  man?  Have  you  seen  aught  of  Bras-de- 
Mort?" 


THE  PIRATES'  ISLAND         243 

"I  have  seen  him  not,"  answered  Nancy, 
sadly,  "but  some  have  been  picked  up  by  boats 
from  the  other  ships.  Please  God,  he  is  among 
them." 

"Please  God,"  echoed  Cherie. 

The  longboat  continued  its  search  for  those 
that  might  be  saved,  and  the  French  girl  con- 
tinued her  quest  with  eyes  so  blurred  with  tears 
she  could  scarcely  see.  At  last  they  found 
the  Frenchman  in  another  boat  and  took  him 
into  their  own,  and  then  pulled  back  to  the 
Snapdragon,  picking  up  Jim  Rimble  and  True- 
heart  Jackson  on  the  way. 

And  so  they  returned  to  their  own  ship  in 
safety,  all  who  had  gone  away,  with  one  among 
them  they  had  not  expected  to  see  again.  As 
they  helped  the  dumb  man  over  the  side,  Bar- 
ney plucked  at  Nancy's  sleeve. 

"Some  day,"  said  he,  pointing  significantly 
to  Yellow  Eyes,  "he  will  go  too  far  with  me 
— that  fellow." 


CHAPTER  XIII 

CAPTAIN    MORGAN    LOSES   A   PRIZE 

Back  on  the  quarterdeck  of  her  own  ship 
Captain  Nancy  paced  restlessly.  With  a  treas- 
ure of  upwards  of  300,000  crowns  in  the  hold, 
the  Spanish  crew  prisoners  between  decks,  and 
Don  Luis  and  his  daughter  under  heavy  guard, 
she  realized  that  she  was  confronted  by  a  situa- 
tion demanding  all  that  she  had  of  tact  and 
diplomacy,  the  more  especially  since  Captain 
Stillingfleet  was  now  not  only  no  longer  a 
friend,  but  an  active  enemy. 

As  for  the  treasure,  she  understood  from 
what  she  had  learned  aboard  the  frigate  that 
it  might  safely  be  kept  as  lawful  prize.  This 
she  was  determined  to  do,  now  that  she  had 
won  the  men  to  her  leadership  by  that  promise. 
As  for  the  Spanish  captain,  it  was  but  loyalty 
to  her  father  and  the  cause  to  keep  this  inter- 
loper from  the  stolen  estates  that  awaited  him 
in  England,  and  this  also  she  was  resolved  to 

accomplish. 

244 


MORGAN  LOSES  A  PRIZE       245 

With  the  Spaniards  set  ashore  on  some 
island,  she  could  count  upon  the  greed  and  the 
love  of  adventure  of  her  men  to  keep  them  in 
those  seas  as  long  as  she  might  choose  to  stay. 
And  this  she  vowed  to  do,  until  it  became  too 
late  for  Godfrey  Stillingfleet  to  work  any  in- 
jury to  General  Sidney  and  her  father,  or  the 
other  Puritan  conspirators  in  France. 

But  as  she  pondered  upon  these  considera- 
tions, the  conviction  was  borne  home  to  her 
that,  after  all,  they  were  really  trivial  beside 
another  matter  which  forced  itself  upon  her  at- 
tention as  often  as  she  sought  to  thrust  it  into 
the  background. 

Captain  Henry  Morgan  was  not  to  be  dis- 
posed of  so  easily,  and,  as  she  went  over  again 
and  again  the  scene  in  the  great  cabin  of  the 
Oxford,  that  had  terminated  so  dramatically 
and  terribly,  yet  so  providentially  for  her,  she 
realized  that  in  this  big,  masterful,  self-con- 
fident Welsh  buccaneer  she  had  to  deal  with  a 
man  of  a  different  stamp  from  any  whom  she 
had  ever  known  before — a  man  who  was  ac- 
customed to  have  his  way  in  all  things,  who 
was  not  to  be  deterred  by  any  considerations 


246          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

whatsoever  from  the  accomplishment  of  any 
undertaking  upon  which  he  might  fix  his  iron 
will. 

And  so,  contemplating  her  predicament  from 
every  angle,  she  resolved  upon  a  measure  that 
was  like  to  be  her  undoing.  In  the  pirate's 
love-making,  rude  as  it  was,  there  had  been  a 
depth  of  passion  she  had  not  failed  to  recog- 
nize, nor  did  it  repel  her.  For  try  as  she  would 
to  rid  herself  of  its  appeal,  the  primal  woman 
in  her  responded  to  it  with  a  force  she  could 
resist  but  not  deny.  The  thought  of  him  made 
her  conscious  for  the  first  time  of  her  ragged 
shirt  and  coarse  breeches,  her  sunburned  arms 
and  limbs.  Looking  over  the  rail  in  thought- 
ful mood,  the  burnished  waters  of  the  Carib- 
bean sent  back  to  her  troubled  eyes  a  reflection 
that  brought  a  blush  to  her  tanned  cheeks. 

"I'll  do  it!"  she  whispered  softly  to  herself, 
and  quitting  the  quarterdeck,  all  breathless 
with  excitement,  demanded  of  the  Fleming  who 
was  on  guard  before  the  forecastle  that  he 
summon  to  her  Cherie,  the  French  girl.  Then 
she  burst  into  the  cabin  that  had  been  occupied 
by  the  Spanish  captain's  daughter. 


MORGAN  LOSES  A  PRIZE       247 

"Well,  Mistress  Chillingworth,"  said  she  to 
herself,  "now  that  thou  hast  turned  pirate,  as 
well  be  hanged  for  a  sheep  as  a  lamb.  Since 
I  have  stolen  a  whole  ship,  'twill  be  no  greater 
sin  to  add  the  theft  of  a  few  clothes  to  my  other 
crimes." 

With  this  she  began  to  rummage  in  the  Span- 
ish girl's  chests,  and  presently,  finding  that  for 
which  she  searched,  had  the  whole  cabin  lit- 
tered with  linens  and  silks.  But  first  she  let 
down  her  tawny  hair,  and,  assisted  by  Cherie 
who  tore  herself  away  from  Bras-de-Mort, 
combed  out  the  snarls,  dancing  about  with 
shrieks  and  groans,  for  the  process,  after  so 
long  a  neglect,  was  a  painful  one.  Then  she 
fell  upon  the  petticoats,  the  laces  and  ribbons. 

An  hour  passed.  Another  slipped  by. 
Nancy  and  Cherie  were  oblivious  to  their  sur- 
roundings, intoxicated  by  the  greatest  of  all 
feminine  delights.  From  this  blissful  state 
they  were  aroused  by  a  hail  and  the  tramp  of 
feet  upon  the  deck.  Mindful  of  her  duties  and 
obligations  then,  she  threw  open  the  door  and 
stepped  out,  just  as  Captain  Morgan  came  over 
the  side. 


248          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

The  buccaneer  regarded  her  for  a  long  in- 
stant as  if  he  had  been  suddenly  cast  into 
bronze.  Then  off  came  his  wide-brimmed  hat, 
with  its  nodding  crimson  plume  that  swept  the 
deck,  what  with  the  great  bow  he  made. 

"Madame,"  said  he,  taking  her  hand  and 
kissing  it  as  gallantly  as  if  he  had  been  a 
courtier,  "the  explosion  on  the  frigate  just  now 
interrupted  me.  I  have  come  to  resume  where 
I  left  off,  and  to  say  that  I  have  fetched  the 
monk  along.  'Sdeath!  Madame,  my  heart 
felt  near  to  bursting  when  first  I  saw  you  yon- 
der, and  now  that  I  behold  you  in  your  proper 
person  I  am  all  the  more  aflame  for  you." 

But  though  the  mellow  light  in  his  eyes, 
which  for  the  moment  lost  their  customary 
hardness,  bore  witness  to  the  ardor  of  his 
words,  his  glances  were  not  so  wholly  occupied 
with  the  scrutiny  of  the  beauty  of  her  face  and 
girlish  figure  as  to  be  oblivious  to  the  beauty  of 
the  ship,  which  he  was  quick  to  note  and  to  ap- 
preciate in  hull  and  spars  as  in  the  line  and 
color  of  a  pretty  woman.  To  both  he  gave  his 
frank  admiration,  and,  being  no  less  a  sea- 
man than  a  lover,  was  so  entirely  impartial 


MORGAN  LOSES  A  PRIZE       249 

that  he  bestowed  his  praises  equally  upon  both, 
in  the  same  breath,  until  it  seemed,  that,  with 
a  most  remarkable  economy  of  language,  as 
befitting  a  man  of  action  rather  than  of  speech, 
he  made  a  single  word  serve  a  double  duty. 

"  'Sblood,  madame!"  he  cried,  with  another 
great  bow  and  flourish.  "Well  rigged  thou 
art,  truly,  nor  over-rigged  to  wrong  you  in 
your  sailing.  A  great  rake  forwards  on,  like  a 
French  craft,  which  is  as  I  like,  making  for  the 
more  speed." 

Leading  the  way  into  the  round-house,  as 
if  he  felt  himself  already  master  there,  his 
exclamations  of  delight  increased  with  every 
step  he  took,  until  at  last  he  cried: 

"By  our  Lady !  Madame,  we  are  well  met, 
indeed.  Here  you  have  as  staunch  a  vessel  of 
fourteen  guns  as  ever  I  hope  to  see,  and  ports 
could  be  cut  on  the  gun-deck  for  more  ord- 
nance, though  I  depend  not  upon  my  cannon 
in  a  fight,  so  that  I  can  sail  my  ship  to  lay 
aboard,  and  bring  my  enemy  under  the  musket 
fire  of  my  men.  Still,  I  scorn  them  not,  and  we 
can  use  them. 

"Such  another  ship  as  this  with  us,  an'  the 


250         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

frigate  had  not  blown  up  and  bereft  me  of  my 
largest,  and  I  would  take  Panama  this  expedi- 
tion. Join  me  in  my  plans,  madame,  and 
though  the  larger  undertaking  be  deferred  un- 
til a  later  time,  nathless  we  shall  go  away  now 
to  the  Main  and  gain  a  king's  ransom  from  the 
rich  Spanish  cities,  you,  as  my  wife,  to  share 
equally  with  me  in  the  adventure,  and  your 
men  to  share  equally  with  my  own,  on  the  terms 
which  they  well  know,  as  the  code  of  the 
brethren  of  the  coast — no  purchase,  no  pay. 
Come,  marry  me  and  sail  with  me." 

"As  to  the  second  part  of  your  proposal, 
sir,"  replied  Nancy,  seating  herself  at  the  table 
where  she  had  drawn  up  the  agreement  with 
her  English  comrades,  "I  confess  it  hath  much 
to  commend  itself  as  well  to  my  taste  as  to  my 
desires." 

Morgan  smiled  and  rubbed  his  hands  with 
a  gesture  of  satisfaction. 

"As  for  the  rest  of  what  you  say,  sir,"  she 
added,  "I  thank  you  for  the  compliment  you 
have  paid  me,  but  that  can  never  be." 

"Can  never  be?"  echoed  Captain  Morgan. 

"Nay,  sir,  it  is  impossible,"  she  answered, 


MORGAN  LOSES  A  PRIZE      251 

turning  her  eyes  from  his.  "I — I — I  have 
promised  myself  to  another,"  she  faltered, 
stammering,  and  daring  not  to  look  at  him. 

"  'Sdeath,  madame,"  answered  the  buccaneer 
nonchalantly,  as  if  vastly  relieved,  "do  not  let 
that  trouble  you.  Were  you  already  married, 
nathless  I  would  wed  thee  still." 

"But  that  would  be  a  sin,  sir,"  cried  Nancy, 
looking  at  the  pirate  with  wide-open  eyes. 

Captain  Morgan  threw  back  his  head  and 
laughed  a  hearty  laugh  that  shook  his  whole 
huge  frame. 

"  'Sblood,  madame ! "  he  returned,  when  he 
could  recover  his  breath,  "there  is  no  such 
thing  as  sin  below  the  tropic,  so  make  your 
mind  easy  on  that  score,  my  lady,  and  I  will 
fetch  'the  monk  in  and  have  the  service  read." 

Whereupon  he  whistled  loudly.  Two  of  his 
men,  savage-looking  fellows,  bareheaded  and 
unkempt,  with  knives  and  pistols  in  their  belts, 
slouched  up  and  gave  him  a  rude  salute.  He 
bade  them  summon  the  priest,  and  presently 
Cochinillo,  the  pretended  monk,  appeared  from 
the  direction  of  the  cook-room,  a  pig's  knuckle 
in  one  hand  and  in  the  other  a  hunk  of  half- 


252          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

baked  dough.  His  heavy  face  shone  with 
grease.  With  a  sigh  he  thrust  the  bone  and 
the  bread  into  his  habit  and  entered  the  cabin, 
rubbing  his  hands  upon  his  frock. 

"Hast  thou  thy  prayer  book  about  thee, 
monk?"  roared  the  pirate. 

The  little  man  choked  out  an  inarticulate  an- 
swer, sending  forth  a  cloud  of  crumbs  and 
gristle  from  his  mouth  that  was  so  crammed 
with  food  that  very  likely  he  would  have 
strangled  to  death  before  their  eyes  had  not 
the  buccaneer  rained  a  shower  of  mighty  blows 
between  his  shoulders. 

"Curse  thee!"  cried  Captain  Morgan. 
"Thou  art  always  stuffing  thy  belly.  Out  with 
thy  book  and  say  thy  mumble  and  jumble  over 
us,  and  be  quick  about  it !  For  lack  of  a  real 
priest  you  will  suit  me  as  well  as  another." 

"Not  so  fast,  Captain  Morgan,  an'  you 
please,  sir!"  Nancy's  face  had  gone  quite 
pale.  "Did  I  not  tell  you  that  I  was  already 
bespoken?"  She  blushed  and  hung  her  head. 
"Well,  not  that,  exactly,"  she  faltered,  "but 
I  have  already  promised  myself  to  another. 
I  cannot  marry  you." 


MORGAN  LOSES  A  PRIZE       253 

"That's  what  she  told  d'Ogeron,"  spluttered 
the  monk.  She  wouldn't  do  it,  absolutely  re- 
fused, said  she  — " 

"Silence!"  bellowed  Morgan.  "Curses  on 
d'Ogeron,  and  on  you,  too.  Think  you  I  am 
to  be  thwarted  of  my  desires  because  he  knew 
not  that  a  woman's  'no'  means  'yes'  ?" 

He  passed  quickly  around  the  table  and 
grasped  the  girl,  though  not  over-roughly,  by 
the  arm.  Though  she  saw  in  his  flushed  face 
and  his  eyes,  wherein  lay  a  light  that  burned 
with  brilliance,  no  intent  to  do  her  harm,  but 
only  desire  and  love  for  her,  she  shrank  from 
him  with  alarm  and  uttered  a  sharp  cry  that 
brought  the  boy  Barney  to  the  cabin  door,  a 
smile  dying  away  on  his  freckled  face.  Not 
having  witnessed  the  beginning  of  the  scene 
within  the  round-house,  and  totally  mistaking 
the  motives  and  attitude  of  Captain  Morgan, 
his  Irish  mouth  quivered  like  a  terrier's. 

Barney's  admiration  for  the  mighty  pirate, 
whose  fame  in  those  seas  he  had  been  drinking 
in  around  the  forecastle  lamp,  vanished  in  an 
instant.  His  ideas  were  ever  good  ones,  but 
in  his  singularly  simple  mind  there  was  room 


254         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

for  but  one  at  a  time.  He  saw  only  his  friend 
and  comrade  upon  the  defensive  before  the 
Welshman,  and  without  waiting  to  inquire  into 
the  circumstances,  he  bounded  into  the  cabin, 
and  with  the  spring  of  a  young  wolf  threw  him- 
self full  tilt  upon  the  buccaneer,  digging  his 
claws  into  the  man's  brawny  throat  and  feeling 
with  his  teeth  for  his  ear. 

Captain  Morgan,  giant  though  he  was,  stag- 
gered beneath  the  onslaught,  which  took  him 
so  by  surprise  that  it  all  but  threw  him  off  his 
feet.  But  he  quickly  recovered  himself,  not 
without  effort,  and,  shaking  off  the  lad  as  a 
dog  would  have  rid  himself  of  a  rat  clinging 
to  his  nose,  sent  Barney  reeling  into  the  parti- 
tion, where  he  lay  in  a  corner  dazed  and  dizzy, 
the  blood  streaming  from  a  cut  over  his  right 
eye. 

"Shame,  Captain  Morgan!"  Nancy  cried 
hotly,  dropping  to  her  knees  beside  the  Irish 
boy.  "Tisbutalad!" 

"Nay,  you  wrong  me,  madame,"  replied  the 
pirate  sheepishly.  "He  took  me  so  by  sur- 
prise I  scarcely  thought  on  what  I  was  doing. 
'Sdeath !  He  flew  at  me  like  a  lion.' 


MORGAN  LOSES  A  PRIZE      255 

"He  did  but  go  to  my  rescue,  sir,"  answered 
the  girl,  "as  he  hath  ever  done  since  first  we 
met  in  the  market  place  at  Lille." 

"Then  he  is  my  friend — and  shall  ever  be. 
Come,  lad,  my  hand  on  it." 

He  held  out  his  huge  fist,  but  Barney,  scowl- 
ing and  shaking  his  head,  refused  it  and 
climbed  weakly  to  his  feet,  and  stood  there 
glaring  at  him  and  wiping  the  blood  upon  his 
shirt. 

"Nay,  lad,"  continued  the  buccaneer,  "but 
be  my  friend  and  you  shall  never  need  another. 
There  is  a  common  bond  between  us — I  love 
your  mistress  as  you  do,  aye,  ten  thousand 
times  more.  And  just  now,  when  you  rushed 
to  her  succor,  I  meant  her  no  injury,  but  was 
but  telling  her  of  my  love  and  asking  her  to  be 
my  wife,  that  we  might  go  away  together  to  the 
Spanish  Main  on  an  adventure  that  most  cer- 
tainly would  bring  riches  to  all  of  us. 

"And  you  shall  go  with  us,  lad,  and  for  your 
faithfulness  to  her  in  the  past,  and  because  you 
love  her,  too,  you  shall  share  with  us  far  above 
your  rank  and  service,  and  go  home  to  Eng- 
land at  last  with  money  jingling  in  your  pocket. 


256         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

Come,  lad,  say  you  will  be  friend  to  Henry 
Morgan.  Go  with  us,  where  gold,  and  fame, 
and  the  zest  of  a  man's  life  await  us,  and  we 
shall  have  our  hearts'  desires,  all  of  us — my 
hand  upon  it." 

There  was  the  glow  of  romance  and  the  lure 
of  glory  in  his  words,  and  a  depth  of  passion 
in  his  voice  that  sent  the  warm  blood  tingling 
and  dancing  through  Nancy's  veins.  For  one 
rebellious  moment  her  heart  responded  to  their 
appeal  with  a  surging  desire.  All  the  wanton- 
ness of  her  untamed  nature  was  crying  to  be 
free,  to  follow  this  freebooter  wherever  his  in- 
satiable lust  for  gold  might  lead  him. 

If  he  had  seized  her  then  in  his  arms,  he 
might  have  had  her  for  the  asking;  but  he  let 
his  moment  of  opportunity  pass  him  by  un- 
heeded, as  every  man  does  with  some  woman 
once  in  a  lifetime.  And  so  there  slipped  from 
Henry  Morgan  a  greater  prize  than  all 
the  treasures  the  Spanish  Indies  held,  for 
Nancy,  turning  now  to  Barney,  saw  in  his  face 
hatred  and  doubt  and  mistrust.  Her  ardor 
cooled.  Composure  returned  to  her.  She 
was  once  more  mistress  of  herself. 


MORGAN  LOSES  A  PRIZE       257 

When  Barney  slunk  out  of  the  cabin,  and 
Captain  Morgan  addressed  her  once  more,  he 
found  her  shrinking  from  him  as  before. 
While  the  Irish  lad  sped  down  the  deck  to  the 
forecastle,  whispering  an  excited  word  to  every 
man  he  met,  and  finally,  followed  by  Jim  Rim- 
ble  and  Pierre,  his  whiskers  bristling,  dived 
down  below  on  some  mysterious  mission,  Cap- 
tain Morgan  returned  to  the  assault  of  the 
citadel  of  her  heart,  only  to  find  it  more 
strongly  fortified  than  ever,  so  that  in  his  argu- 
ments he  passed  from  persuasion  to  force. 

Eloquence  gave  way  to  anger,  and  failing  by 
less  peaceful  means  to  return  to  that  stage  of 
his  love-making  where  he  had  found  himself 
when  interrupted,  he  adopted,  too  late,  methods 
to  which  he  was  more  accustomed,  and  had  just 
taken  Nancy,  protesting,  in  his  arms,  when  the 
cabin  door  was  burst  open  and  Captain  Stilling- 
fleet  was  there,  a  dozen  British  faces  framing 
the  companionway  behind  him. 

So  Henry  Morgan  released  the  girl  from  his 
embrace,  for  there  was  something  in  God- 
frey's mien  that  held  his  eager  attention,  even 
as  it  held  Nancy's,  a  look  that  he  had  never 


258          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

seen  before  in  such  eyes  or  upon  such  firm  lips, 
but  that  Nancy  had  seen  there  in  the  flash  of 
the  lightning  on  the  old  Baptiste  the  night  he 
had  held  her  close  against  his  breast  and  had 
kissed  her;  and  she  beheld  it  with  different 
emotions,  too,  for  whereas  the  buccaneer  felt 
instinctively  for  his  pistols,  she  as  instinctively 
felt  for  her  handkerchief — the  Spanish  girl's 
handkerchief.  Not  having  included  that  arti- 
cle of  toilette  in  her  borrowed  plumage,  she 
forbore  to  weep. 

Captain  Morgan  also  changed  his  mind. 
He  found  the  hilt  of  a  pistol  with  a  practised 
hand,  but  did  not  draw,  and  not  solely  because 
of  the  compelling  look  in  the  deep  blue  eyes  of 
Master  Stillingfleet.  The  faces  in  the  door- 
way also  carried  a  message  that  he  was  quick 
to  read. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

CAPTAIN    STILLINGFLEET   TAKES    COMMAND 

"Who,  in  God's  name,"  said  Captain  Mor- 
gan, after  a  pause,  very  coolly,  and  measuring 
his  antagonist  at  his  leisure,  taking  note  of  the 
breadth  and  the  brawn  of  him,  "may  you  be, 
and  to  what  do  I  owe  this  intrusion?" 

"If  you  have  not  heard  my  name,  that  is  a 
misfortune  you  may  repair  in  your  own  way 
and  in  your  own  time,"  replied  Captain  Stil- 
lingfleet,  coldly.  "As  for  what  I  am  doing 
here,  since  when  has  it  been  an  intrusion  for 
the  master  of  a  ship  to  step  into  his  own  round- 
house?" 

"You  master  here!"  exclaimed  the  pirate 
with  an  incredulous  sneer.  "Nay,  but  the 
maid  is  captain.  Her  own  men  did  confirm  it 
not  long  since  upon  the  frigate  that  was  lately 
blown  up  under  me." 

"Did  Mistress  Nancy  tell  you  she  was  cap- 
tain?" demanded  Captain  Stillingfleet,  still 

259 


26o          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

looking  at  the  buccaneer  with  unblinking  eyes. 

"Why,  as  to  that,  no;  but  she  did  act  the 
part." 

"That  is  as  it  may  be.  But  since  she  did  not 
tell  you  that  she  is  in  command,  I  will  tell  you 
that  I  am."  And  with  this  he  smiled  at  the 
girl,  as  if  to  say,  "Now  is  your  opportunity  to 
speak." 

But  Nancy,  glancing  then  in  vexation  at 
Captain  Morgan,  bit  her  lip,  and  said  nothing. 
Captain  Morgan,  looking  sharply  at  the  men 
framed  against  the  sky  in  the  cabin  door  heard 
him  add,  "Aye,  ask  them,  an'  you  will,  since 
you  doubt  my  word."  And  he  turned  full  upon 
Jim  Rimble  such  a  look  as  started  him  splut- 
tering. 

"Aye,  he  is  our  captain,"  said  Jim  Rimble 
huskily,  clearing  his  throat  and  glaring  in  his 
turn  at  his  comrades.  "  'Tis  a  man's  work." 

"I  can  talk  with  you  as  well  as  with  another," 
said  Captain  Morgan,  addressing  Master  Stil- 
lingfleet  in  a  more  conciliatory  tone.  "My 
business  is  come  to  quickly.  I  have  urged  this 
lady  here  to  go  away  with  me  to  Maracaibo,  on 
the  Main,  where  the  Spaniards  have  rich  set- 


CAPTAIN  STILLINGFLEET      261 

tlements,  and  where  we  can  find  gold  and  silver, 
as  well  as  huge  quantities  of  dyes  and  goods 
withal,  and  precious  gems." 

"Think  you  we  would  be  such  fools  as  to  do 
your  fighting,  only  to  have  you  in  the  end  gain 
the  lion's  share  of  the  spoils  ?"  demanded  Cap- 
tain Stillingfleet,  while  the  men  behind  him 
nodded  their  approval. 

"As  for  that,  I  can  quiet  your  alarms,"  re- 
plied the  pirate  briskly,  "by  offering  to  you 
the  same  terms  I  have  offered  to  madame." 

"The  same  terms?" 

"No  purchase,  no  pay — the  law  of  the  coast 
—you  and  your  men  to  share  equally  with  my 
own  lieutenants  and  my  own  men.  The  same 
terms  I  offered  her,  save  in  one  particular." 

"And  what  was  the  exception?" 

"That  she  be  my  wife  and  share  equally 
with  me." 

"That  shall  never  be!"  cried  Captain  Stil- 
lingfleet, more  vehemently  than  he  had  yet 
spoken. 

"So  she  hath  told  me  herself/'  returned  the 
buccaneer  dryly. 

"Ah!" 


262          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

'The  lady  it  seems,  will  have  naught  of  me." 

A  smile  beamed  in  the  eyes  of  Godfrey  Stil- 
lingfleet.  Then  they  darkened  quickly  as  the 
pirate  added  with  genuine  feeling  in  his  voice. 

"She  hath  promised  herself  to  another. 
'Sdeath"  he  finished  savagely,  and  putting  his 
hand  again  upon  the  hilt  of  his  pistol,  "per- 
chance thou  art  the  man." 

"Nay,"  answered  Captain  Stillingfleet,  while 
Nancy  hung  her  head  and  would  not  look  at 
him.  "That  is  not  my  good  fortune." 

"  'Sblood !  Since  we  are  both  in  the  same 
boat,  it  should  be  easy  for  us  to  come  to  terms. 
Go  away  with  me  on  this  adventure  and  you 
shall  fare  as  I  do,  forty  shares  between  us,  and 
as  for  the  girl,  an'  you  please,  we  will  let  the 
dice  decide  that  issue  between  us  two." 

Captain  Stillingfleet  took  a  step  forward. 
"Get  out  of  my  round-house,"  he  said.  There 
was  no  sound  for  a  long  instant  but  the  shuf- 
fling of  the  men's  feet  and  the  lapping  of  the 
tide  along  the  side.  Nancy  looked  up,  her 
eyes  smiling,  a  great  contentment  in  her  heart, 
her  mind  at  rest. 

"You  refuse  me  ?"  demanded  the  buccaneer. 


CAPTAIN  STILLINGFLEET      263 

"When  we  go  pirating,  we  go  on  our  own  ac- 
count," replied  Godfrey  Stillingfleet,  "asking 
favors  of  none,  sharing  our  booty  only  among 
ourselves." 

There  was  a  murmur  of  approval  behind 
him,  and  Barney's  shrill  voice  chortling  as  he 
capered  about  the  deck  outside. 

"As  for  the  girl,"  added  Captain  Stilling- 
fleet, "thougii  she  be  not  master  here,  she  is 
mistress.  We  are  guided  not  by  her  com- 
mands, but  by  her  wishes.  If  she  declines  to 
marry  you  or  have  aught  to  do  with  your 
schemes,  Captain  Morgan,  rest  assured  she  will 
not  lack  for  arms  to  back  up  those  refusals." 

The  satisfaction  of  the  crew  of  the  Snap- 
dragon, that  is  to  say,  of  the  Englishmen  who 
had  escaped  from  Tortuga,  increased  at  this, 
and  Barney's  countenance  thrust  between  Jim 
Rimble's  knotty  legs  bore  a  smile  so  incredibly 
vast  that  one  would  have  sworn  he  did  not  have 
a  freckle  to  his  name. 

"Aye !"  boomed  Jim  Rimble,  rolling  his  eyes 
at  his  mates  as  he  spoke.  "She  will  not  lack 
for  arms." 

"Since  that  is  your  decision,"  replied  Cap- 


264          BEYOND  THE  .SUNSET 

tain  Morgan,  making  no  great  effort  to  hide 
his  chagrin,  "mayhap  you  have  powder  and 
ball  that  you  could  spare  me  from  your  store. 
I  do  assure  you,  the  loss  of  the  Oxford  just 
now,  with  all  her  ammunition,  was  a  heavy 
blow." 

"That  is  another  matter,  and  may  be  ar- 
ranged," answered  Captain  Stillingfleet.  "We 
have  seven  or  eight  hundred  pigs  of  lead  which 
we  would  gladly  exchange  for  salted  and 
smoked  meat  of  hogs  and  cattle  and  such  other 
provisions  as  you  may  have  by  you  in  greater 
abundance  than  you  need." 

"Call  it  settled  then,"  agreed  the  pirate,  with 
an  attempt  at  good  humor.  "I  will  send 
aboard  the  victuals  you  stand  in  need  of  and 
my  men  will  fetch  away  the  lead." 

The  bargain  struck,  Captain  Morgan  called 
his  boat  and  went  off  to  his  own  ship  anchored 
further  up  the  cove,  in  shore,  though  not  with- 
out a  parting  bow  to  Nancy,  who  sat  now  de- 
jectedly at  the  cabin  table,  crestfallen  at  the 
course  events  had  taken,  yet  considering  her- 
self fortunate,  on  the  whole,  at  the  successful 
termination  of  what  had  threatened  to  become 


CAPTAIN  STILLINGFLEET      265 

an  awkward  situation  for  her.  Already  her 
mind  was  busy  with  the  future,  searching  for 
some  play  whereby  she  would  be  able  to  gain 
once  more  the  upper  hand,  and  not  doubting 
but  that  she  should  find  one. 

Before  Morgan  had  fairly  pushed  off  Cap- 
tain Stillingfleet,  full  of  large  schemes,  was 
busily  engaged  putting  them  into  execution. 
He  set  the  men  at  work,  bringing  up  the  pigs 
of  lead,  which  fortunately  were  stowed  away 
in  the  forward  hold  where  they  could  be  got 
at  readily  without  disturbing  or  disclosing  the 
Spanish  prisoners.  And  by  the  time  Captain 
Morgan  returned,  this  time  in  a  longboat  full 
of  men,  great  piles  of  the  metal  lay  in  the 
scuppers  waiting  to  be  taken  off. 

Captain  Morgan,  in  thoughtful  mood, 
paced  the  deck,  and  seemed  much  pleased  at 
the  sight  of  so  much  lead,  but  whether  the  brain 
behind  his  restless  eyes  was  busy  with  thoughts 
of  how  he  should  use  it  against  the  Dons,  or 
shaped  a  plot  boding  ill  for  Nancy  and  himself, 
Captain  Stillingfleet,  who  watched  the  pirate 
and  his  tatterdemalions  narrowly,  could  by  no 
means  make  out. 


266         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

The  buccaneer  made  no  move  to  return  to 
his  own  ship  when  the  first  boat-load  of  lead 
went  over  the  side  and  was  pulled  off,  nor  did 
any  of  the  victuals  and  provisions  he  had  prom- 
ised in  return  make  an  appearance.  Two  of 
his  men  he  dispatched  to  the  island  with  orders 
which  he  whispered  to  them,  and  then  fell  to 
pacing  the  deck  again  moodily,  as  the  Snap- 
dragon's crew  toiled  over  their  task  in  the  broil- 
ing sun. 

Now  and  then  the  pirate  turned  upon  Cap- 
tain Stillingfleet  his  searching  eyes,  but  there 
was  something  in  the  young  fellow's  Saxon 
face  that  evidently  did  not  wholly  please  him. 
For  after  such  scrutinies  he  would  scowl  and 
grind  his  jaws  and  turn  his  attention  to  the 
men,  as  if  mentally  taking  stock  of  them.  And 
Stillingfleet,  quite  well  aware  that  the  buc- 
caneer had  sailed  with  some  of  them  in  the 
past,  was  not  easy  in  his  mind. 

Casting  an  eye  ashore,  he  observed  that  the 
buccaneers  were  flocking  down  to  the  beach 
in  large  numbers  and  putting  off  in  small  boats. 

Convincing  himself  of  this,  he  turned  from 
the  rail  to  find  Morgan  deep  in  converse  with 


CAPTAIN  STILLINGFLEET      267 

Jim  Rimble,  and  stepping  quickly  up  to  them, 
not  liking  the  look  he  saw  in  the  sailor's  eyes, 
he  heard  the  pirate  captain  say  something 
about  "Maracaibo,"  and  saw  Jim  Rimble  go 
off  among  the  men  forward.  Stillingfleet 
pulled  out  a  pistol. 

"Hark  ye,  Captain  Morgan,"  he  said.  "I 
am  not  the  man  to  stand  for  anybody  stirring 
up  mutiny  on  my  ship."  And  with  this  he 
presented  his  piece  at  the  pirate's  head,  and 
cocked  it. 

Morgan  laughed  in  his  face,  the  coarse, 
reckless,  self-confident  laugh  of  a  strong  man 
who  felt  sure  of  his  ground. 

"What  if  I  did  speak  with  these  men?"  he 
returned.  "Will  they  hold  it  against  me  that 
I  offer  them  a  chance  for  gold?" 

Some  of  the  men  nearest  them,  seeing  what 
was  going  on,  stopped  their  work,  now  almost 
done,  for  the  lead  was  all  on  deck,  and  slouched 
up.  Captain  Morgan  caught  Jim  Rimble's 
eye  and  smiled  at  him. 

Jim  Rimble  grinned  back,  pulling  at  his  fore- 
lock and  shifting  uneasily  on  his  feet.  He 
had  chipped  off  from  some  of  the  pigs  of  lead 


268          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

a  handful  of  ragged  pieces  of  metal,  and  these 
he  jingled  nervously  in  his  palms,  so  that  they 
clinked  and  rattled  musically. 

"Aye,  lads,"  said  Morgan,  mockingly, 
"suppose  those  were  pieces-of-eight — money, 
lads,  instead  of  sinkers  for  Jim  Rimble's  fish- 
ing lines.  Would  you  hold  that,  too,  against 
Henry  Morgan?" 

"Have  done  with  this  talk,  sir,"  said  Cap- 
tain Stillingfleet  sternly,  and  went  forward  to 
superintend  the  removal  of  the  last  boat-loads 
of  the  lead,  Morgan's  pirates  having  come  back 
for  the  remainder  of  it. 

He  was  anxious  to  get  the  work  over  with 
and  clear  his  ship  of  these  buccaneers.  Lean- 
ing over  the  side  he  saw  that  the  pirates  had 
returned,  this  time  heavily  armed,  and  some  of 
them  had  muskets  concealed  in  their  boats. 
When  the  last  of  the  lead  had  been  stowed 
away,  instead  of  shoving  off  as  they  had  done 
before,  they  swarmed  back  over  the  side  of  the 
vessel  and  trooped  down  to  the  rail  of  the 
quarterdeck. 

"Ho  for  Maracaibo!"  shouted  Jim  Rimble, 
carried  away  with  enthusiasm,  and  throwing 


CAPTAIN  STILLINGFLEET      269 

his  bits  of  metal  into  the  air  in  his  excite- 
ment. 

"Ho  for  Maracaibo !"  shouted  the  others  in 
a  roaring  chorus. 

Emotional  fellows,  simple  as  children  for  all 
their  rogueries,  they  were  swept  for  the  mo- 
ment off  fcheir  feet  by  the  glitter  of  gold  in 
Morgan's  glowing  words.  They  looked  ques- 
tioningly  at  Nancy,  who  came  now  from  her 
cabin,  followed  by  Yellow  Eyes,  who  appeared 
mysteriously  from  some  hiding-place,  and  the 
shouts  died  down  as  quickly  as  they  had  risen. 
There  was  a  moment  of  silence,  a  thick,  heavy, 
ominous  silence,  the  kind  of  a  silence  that  fills 
the  world  the  moment  before  a  hurricane 
strikes,  and  then  the  sharp  clatter  of  Jim  Rim- 
ble's  fishing  sinkers  as  they  fell  back  upon  the 
deck. 

One  of  them  rolled  to  where  the  dumb  man 
stood  blinking  in  the  sunlight,  his  yellow  eyes 
burning  like  polished  gold.  His  fiery  orbs 
rested  for  an  instant  upon  the  tiny  disk  that 
had  fallen  at  his  feet.  He  stooped  and  picked 
it  up,  smelled  of  it,  bit  it,  threw  it  up  and 
caught  it,  and  then  went  leaping  about  the  deck 


270         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

like  a  madman,  as  if  suddenly  bereft  of  his 
senses. 

With  the  bit  of  metal  clutched  in  his  fingers 
he  rushed  among  the  men,  forcing  them  to  look 
upon  it,  pointing  to  it,  making  the  most  horrible 
grimaces  in  his  hopeless  efforts  to  speak. 
Catching  sight  of  a  long-boat  loaded  with  the 
lead  and  made  fast  at  the  side,  he  threw  himself 
into  her  and  groveled  among  the  pigs,  covering 
them  with  his  slobbery  kisses,  caressing  them, 
endeavoring  to  carry  one  in  his  arms.  This 
being  too  much  for  even  his  great  strength, 
he  scrambled  back  over  the  bulwarks  and  ran 
about  again  among  the  men,  grunting  and 
groaning. 

"Curse  the  fellow!"  cried  Captain  Morgan, 
backing  away  from  him,  and  all  but  stumbling 
overboard  in  his  haste.  "He  must  be 
possessed  of  the  devil.  I  would  not  have  him 
on  my  ship  for  all  the  gold  in  Peru.  Speak, 
fool,  and  have  done  with  thy  gibberish. 
What  art  thou  trying  to  say?  The  sight  of  so 
much  lead  hath  befuddled  thee.  When  I  cast 
it,  I  shall  have  a  care  to  make  a  bullet  that  will 
fit  thy  skull." 


CAPTAIN  STILLINGFLEET      271 

Yellow  Eyes,  who  had  stopped  his  frenzy 
to  listen  to  this  speech,  went  fairly  beside  him- 
self, his  tongueless  gullet  filled  with  froth,  his 
great  arms  moving  convulsively.  Little  Co- 
chinillo,  crossing  himself  piously,  as  if  he  had 
been  a  real  monk,  scurried  for  the  side,  shout- 
ing at  the  top  of  his  voice : 

"He's  a  witch!  He's  a  witch!"  and  dived 
into  the  sea. 

The  pirates  waited  for  no  more.  With 
blanched  faces  they  made  a  rush  for  their 
boats  and  tumbled  into  them,  shaking  and 
trembling. 

"Come  back,  you  fools!"  roared  Captain 
Morgan.  "How  can  a  man  be  a  witch?" 

But  they  paid  no  heed,  and  took  themselves 
off  to  a  safe  distance. 

Stopping  for  a  moment  the  dumb  man 
paused  as  if  thinking,  then  made  a  rush  for  the 
companionway. 

"Don't  let  him  go  below,  men!"  cried  Cap- 
tain Stillingfleet  impulsively.  "He'll  turn  the 
prisoners  loose  or  else  disclose  the  treasure  to 
these  pirates.  Shoot  him  down !" 

With  the  snarl  of  a  wild  animal,  Yellow  Eyes 


272          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

drew  a  knife  from  his  shirt  and  rushed  upon 
the  Devon  man,  who  caught  his  wrist  in  an 
iron  grip,  twisting  it  until  the  blade  fell  to 
the  deck.  But  if  Godfrey  was  strong,  the 
dumb  man  in  his  frenzy  was  his  master,  and 
breaking  the  hold,  he  sprang  back,  and,  pick- 
ing up  an  ax  that  lay  in  the  scuppers,  he  hurled 
it  with  all  his  strength.  Captain  Stillingfleet 
dodged,  but  not  quickly  enough.  The  ax 
struck  him  a  glancing  blow  in  the  head  and  he 
went  down  like  an  ox. 

With  a  scream  of  mingled  rage  and  grief, 
Nancy  looked  about  her  for  a  weapon,  tears  of 
fury  in  her  eyes. 

"Give  me  thy  pistol,"  she  demanded  of  Cap- 
tain Morgan,  who  stood  apart,  a  curious  light 
in  his  eyes. 

"Nay,"  he  replied.  "Wait  a  bit.  What 
was  it  Master  Stillingfleet  said  just  now  of 
prisoners — and  treasure  ?  There  is  more  mys- 
tery here  than  I  had  thought  on,  and  the  man 
yonder,  for  all  his  dumbness,  may  give  me  the 
clew." 

He  raised  his  hand,  that  the  men  in  the  small 
boats,  still  at  some  distance  from  the  ship, 


CAPTAIN  STILLINGFLEET      273 

might  see  him,  and  gave  a  long,  whistling  call. 

"Would  you  spare  the  scoundrel  who  blew 
up  your  ship,  and  see  him  kill  the  finest  Devon 
man  since  Francis  Drake?"  shouted  the  girl, 
fairly  beside  herself. 

"Blew  up  the  Oxford!"  cried  Captain  Mor- 
gan. 

"Aye,  that  he  did,  I  will  swear.  Canst  thou 
not  see  it  in  his  evil  eyes  ?  The  man  was  born 
a  devil  and  does  not  deserve  to  live — nor  shall 
I  spare  him  now.  He  hath  come  at  last  to  his 
reckoning  with  me,  for  the  injuries  he  hath 
done  me  since  he  trepanned  me  out  of  France ; 
for  the  murder  that  he  did  upon  the  old 
Baptist e;  for  the  betrayal  of  us  all  at  Tortuga ; 
aye,  and  for  killing  the  man  I — I — love,"  she 
finished,  turning  an  agonized  face  to  where 
young  Stillingfleet  lay  upon  the  deck.  "Here 
is  an  account  I  shall  pay  home  myself,  an' 
no  one  else  will  aid  me." 

With  this  the  dumb  man,  in  his  molten  eyes 
a  thousand  demons  gleaming,  suddenly  thrust 
his  hand  within  his  shirt,  and  when  it  came 
forth  again  there  was  a  pistol  in  it.  He  raised 
it  to  the  level  of  her  forehead,  and  ran  his 


274         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

burnished  eye  along  the  barrel,  just  as  Barney 
McGiggen  and  Three-legs  came  racing  down 
the  deck  together. 

The  lad  threw  himself  in  front  of  the  girl  as 
the  tongueless  one  fired.  Then  he  pitched 
headlong  to  the  deck  without  a  moan,  while 
Nancy,  at  his  back,  clasped  her  breast  with 
both  hands  and  sank  beside  him,  for  the  same 
bullet  had  pierced  them  both. 

There  was  the  flash  of  a  tawny  body,  and 
with  a  deep-chested  roar  the  three-legged  dog 
for  the  second  time  in  its  short  life  hurled  him- 
self straight  at  the  throat  of  Yellow  Eyes,  and 
his  teeth  met  in  the  man's  corded  neck.  Had 
he  been  a  full-grown  dog,  he  would  have  killed 
him,  but  even  so  the  force  of  his  weight  and  the 
snap  of  those  jaws  bore  the  dumb  man  back- 
ward, and  he  went  down  with  a  crash,  just  as 
Captain  Stillingfleet  rolled  over  in  the  scup- 
pers and  pulled  himself  to  his  feet.  He  took 
the  situation  in  at  a  glance,  and,  observing 
Captain  Morgan  leaning  over  the  rail,  cursing 
his  men  and  ordering  them  to  come  back,  and 
catching  him  unawares,  suddenly  lifted  him 
bodily  in  his  arms  and  hurled  him  overboard. 


CAPTAIN  STILLINGFLEET      275 

"Heave  ahead,  men  in  the  tops,  men  upon 
the  yards !"  he  commanded.  "Get  the  sails  to 
the  yards,  men,  and  step  lively.  Who  is  at  the 
wheel  there?" 

As  Pierre  took  the  helm  and  put  it  over,  he 
cut  the  anchor  cables  with  his  own  hand,  and 
the  Snapdragon  swung  around  and  drifted 
down  the  cove  on  the  tide.  Fired  by  his  zeal, 
and  catching  the  meaning  of  his  hurried  or- 
ders, the  men  flew  to  obey.  Then  Captain 
Stillingfleet  gathered  Nancy  into  his  arms. 
Standing  over  Yellow  Eyes  for  a  moment  he 
said: 

"Now,  lads,  take  the  dog  off  that  human 
devil.  We  will  attend  to  him  later." 

And  then  he  bore  the  girl  into  the  shade  of 
the  round-house  where  he  laid  her  down  again 
upon  the  deck,  her  head  in  Cherie's  lap. 

Bras-de-Mort  and  Jim  Rimble,  manning  the 
gun  on  the  poop,  trained  it  upon  the  pirates 
and  warned  them  that  if  they  fired  with  their 
muskets  or  tried  to  come  aboard  they  would 
sink  them.  Loaded  down  as  they  were  with 
the  pigs  of  lead,  they  dared  not  adventure,  but 
picked  up  Captain  Morgan  and  pulled  off  for 


276          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

their  own  ships,  which  presently  they  boarded 
and  got  under  way. 

But  by  that  time  the  Snapdragon,  under  all 
the  canvas  she  could  carry,  was  clear  of  the 
island,  so  that  the  buccaneers,  seeing  the  hope- 
lessness of  the  chase,  soon  gave  it  over  and 
went  about.  And  they  saw  them  no  more. 

"Will  she  live  ?"  asked  Captain  Stillingfleet, 
on  his  knees  by  Nancy. 

Cherie  nodded. 

"Thank  God!  But  better  dead  than  that 
she  had  fallen  a  prize  to  Henry  Morgan.  And 
how  is  the  lad?"  he  added,  as  Bras-de-Mort  and 
Jim  Rimble  came  up.  "I  need  not  ask.  And 
he  loved  her,  too." 

His  eyes  filled  with  tears.  He  left  the  little 
group  gathered  about  Nancy  and  stood  by  the 
rail.  The  wind  was  fresh  outside,  with  the 
Caribbean  rolling  and  tumbling  beneath  it. 

"How's  her  head,  Mr.  Helmsman?"  he  asked 
presently. 

"South,  southeast,  sir,"  replied  Pierre,  in  a 
voice  thick  with  emotion. 

"Keep  her  full!" 

"Aye,  aye,  sir." 


CHAPTER  XV 

YVONNE 

When  Nancy  opened  her  eyes,  she  was  ly- 
ing on  the  deck  in  the  shadow  of  the  round- 
house, her  head  in  Cherie's  lap,  and  the  sun 
was  going  down  in  the  west  and  sprinkling 
with  flecks  of  gold  the  rippling  wake  the  Snap- 
dragon left  in  the  blue  waters  of  the  Caribbean. 
She  smiled  faintly  into  the  tear-dimmed  eyes 
of  the  Frenchwoman,  then  closed  her  own 
again. 

When  next  her  lids  fluttered  open,  Captain 
Stillingfleet  was  bending  over  her. 

"Where  is  Barney?"  she  asked,  so  softly 
they  barely  heard  her.  These  were  the  first 
words  she  had  spoken  since  she  had  lost  con- 
sciousness. 

Captain  Stillingfleet's  eyes  filled  and  a  lump 
rose  in  his  throat,  so  that  he  could  not  answer 
her,  but  pointed  silently  to  a  small  object  lying 
stiffly  on  the  quarter-deck,  covered  by  a  sail. 

277 


278         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

Nancy  raised  herself  with  an  effort,  then 
sank  back,  moaning. 

"Dead?"  she  whispered  brokenly. 

He  nodded  yes. 

"Dead!  Oh,  dear  God,  for  me!  For  me! 
He  died  for  me!  Oh!  Barney  boy,  come 
back  to  me,  come  back  to  me,  lad,  for  I  am  all 
alone  and  need  you  so."  A  convulsive  sob 
choked  her. 

"Hush,  dear  heart,"  whispered  Cherie. 
"You,  also,  are  badly  hurt.  Do  not  give  way 
to  your  grief,  for  'twill  be  your  death." 

"He  died  for  me,"  moaned  Nancy,  "he  died 
for  me,  just  as  he  said  he  would.  'Mademoi- 
selle/ he  said  to  me,  there  on  the  island,  Cherie, 
you  remember,  'Mademoiselle,  I  would  lay 
down  my  life  for  you.'  And  now  he  has  kept 
his  word.  Oh,  Barney,  Barney  boy,  come 
back,  come  back  to  me."  Her  cry  died  away 
in  a  wail,  and  she  was  silent,  her  bosom  heav- 
ing. Then,  faintly: 

"We  are  under  way?" 

"Yes.  We  got  off  just  in  time,"  answered 
Captain  Stillingfleet. 

"Just  in  time?" 


YVONNE  279 

"Yes;  hush,  you  must  not  exert  yourself." 

"Just  in  time?  Ah,  I  remember — Captain 
Morgan.  His  men,  I  thought,  were  over- 
armed  when  they  came  aboard  the  last  time. 
I  feared  he  meant  us  a  mischief." 

"I  was  sure  of  it.  But  we  got  clean  away, 
what  with  leaving  behind  the  bow  anchors ;  and 
though  he  gave  us  chase,  we  showed  him  a 
clean  pair  of  heels,  so  that  he  soon  gave  it  over 
and  put  back." 

"And  you,  I  suppose,"  said  the  girl,  after 
a  pause,  "have  taken  command  of  the  ship?" 

"  'Twas  a  duty,'  madame,"  he  answered,  "I 
could  no  longer  neglect." 

She  said  nothing  to  this  for  a  long  time, 
lying  quietly,  with  eyes  closed,  scarcely  breath- 
ing, it  seemed  to  Captain  Stillingfleet,  who 
watched  her  anxiously.  Then — 

"Whither,  sir,  if  I  may  ask?" 

"I  have  laid  out  no  course  as  yet,"  he  an- 
swered, avoiding  her  eyes.  "There  has  not 
been  time.  We  have  but  sailed  before  this  fret 
of  wind  to  give  the  pirates  the  slip." 

"And  then?" 

"Do  not  trouble  yourself  about  that,  dear 


280          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

child.  Lie  quietly,  and  let  us  bind  up  your 
hurts." 

"We  are  to  go  adventuring,  sir,  I  and  my 
men,  to  seek  gold  wherewith  to  buy  their  par- 
dons. I  must  keep  my  troth  with  them." 

She  stopped,  exhausted,  and  lay  still. 
Then,  in  a  faint  voice : 

"Yellow  Eyes !  It  all  comes  back  to  me  now. 
Where  is  the  dumb  man?"  she  finished  with  a 
tremor  that  shook  her  whole  slender  frame. 
"Where  is  the  tongueless  man  who  killed  my 
Barney?" 

"Hush,  Nancy,  hush,  I  beg  you,"  said  Cap- 
tain Stillingfleet.  "The  man  with  the  yellow 
eyes  will  trouble  you  never  again.  I  turned 
him  ofT  at  the  foreyard  arm." 

She  looked  at  him  dully  at  first,  not  compre- 
hending. And  then  with  a  shiver,  for  all  her 
fever,  she  twisted  herself  around  and  looked 
upward  to  where  he  pointed. 

Silhouetted  against  the  tropic  sky  the  sin- 
ister body  of  the  dumb  man  dangled  from  a 
spar,  swinging  gently  with  the  motion  of  the 
ship. 

She  turned  back  with  a  shudder,  and  weakly 


YVONNE  281 

raised  her  hand  to  shade  her  eyes.  Presently 
she  asked: 

"You  will  keep  your  faith  with  me,  and  with 
the  men,  Captain  Stillingfleet  ?  Your  word 
upon  it?" 

"For  your  sake,  I  shall  do  as  the  men  bid 
me,"  he  answered. 

"Upon  your  word?" 

"On  my  soul." 

"We  must  have  gold,"  she  cried,  her  voice 
rising  to  a  wail,  her  eyes  hot  with  madness. 
"We  must  have  gold !  Gold,  Captain  Stilling- 
fleet, to  buy  the  pardons  for  all  of  us.  Steer 
me  to  an  island  of  gold,  do  you  hear?  Get 
out  the  charts  and  find  me  such  a  one." 

"Hush,  Nancy,  you  break  my  heart.  I  can- 
not bear  to  see  thee  thus  in  thy  extremity. 
You  must  rest  quietly,  for  I  perceive  the  fever 
is  coming  upon  you." 

"Nay,  Captain  Stillingfleet,"  she  screamed, 
"I  did  not  think  that  ye  would  play  me  false. 
You  steer  for  London  town !" 

"I  thought  you  had  great  business  there," 
he  answered,  "and  sickose,  I  have,  and  pressing 
business,  too.  All  would  be  well  if  we — " 


282          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

"Would  you  see  my  brave  fellows  lashed 
through  the  streets  from  Newgate  at  the  tail 
of  a  cart,  or  hanged  on  Tyburn  Hill?" 

"Nay,  Nancy,  I—" 

"Jim  Rimble!"  she  screamed,  as  the  delirium, 
she  had  been  righting  off,  at  length  over- 
whelmed her.  "Jim  Rimble !  Pierre !  Where 
art' thou  and  thy  twinkling  eyes?  Ho,  lads, 
tumble  up.  How's  your  helm,  Mr.  Quarter- 
master ?  Put  it  hard  to  port.  Go  below,  Cap- 
tain Stillingfleet.  No,  dear  God,  that  I  would 
not  shoot  thee,  save  that  I  had  no  other  course 
— then  would  I  pistol  you  with  my  own  hand. 
Forgive  me,  sir,  but  go  below.  What  is  this 
that  burns  my  eyes?  Take  away  the  light. 
Whence  comes  that  cruel  glare  upon  the 
stern?" 

"Hush,  Nancy  dear,"  he  said  brokenly,  "  'tis 
evening,  and  the  sun  is  going  down." 

"How  comes  it  on  the  stern?  So,  Captain 
Stillingfleet,  our  bow  is  pointed  east,  and  thou 
hast  played  me  for  a  dupe.  Mr.  Quarter- 
master, port  your  helm  and  sail  beyond  the 
sunset,  for  I  can  see  it  plainly,  now,  and  it  is 
solid  gold.  Father!  Do  not  look  at  me  so 


YVONNE  283 

sadly,  I  beseech  thee.  Thou  dost  not  know 
of  all  the  things  that  I  could  tell  thee  on  had 
I  the  mind." 

She  stopped.  Her  shrill  voice  that  had 
brought  the  men  up  upon  their  tiptoes,  with 
tears  in  their  eyes,  sank  to  a  whisper.  She 
'lay  still,  and  Godfrey  gathered  her  limp  form 
in  his  arms  and  carried  her  into  the  cabin,  just 
as  Yvonne,  the  Spanish  girl,  stepped  out  upon 
the  deck. 

Stillingfleet  laid  Nancy  upon  the  captain's 
bed,  and  left  her  there  with  Cherie,  and,  when 
he  returned  with  stores  from  the  medicine 
chests,  s%e  was  between  the  sheets  and  could 
no  longer  recognize  either  of  them. 

With  such  rude  surgery  as  he  was  master 
of,  he  bound  up  her  wound,  which  was  in  the 
side.  The  pistol  ball  he  could  not  find,  and, 
although  he  would  not  have  dared  to  probe  for 
it,  if  it  had  proved  otherwise  the  case,  he  felt 
sure  that  it  had  passed  through  her  body.  In- 
side her  shirt  he  found  a  packet  of  papers,  and 
these  he  put  into  his  pocket,  to  save  for  her, 
while  Cherie  washed  the  blood  away,  and 
staunched  the  flow  with  herbs  and  bandages. 


284          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

All  that  night  the  Frenchwoman  sat  wide-eyed 
by  the  couch,  bathing  the  sick  girl's  forehead, 
and  moistening  her  burning  lips  with  water  and 
brandy. 

The  moon  was  master  of  the  tropic  sky,  and 
all  his  court  of  stars  were  radiant,  when  Cap- 
tain Stillingfleet  had  got  his  ship  in  order. 

Then  he  called  the  men  before  the  mast,  and 
said  a  prayer  for  Barney,  before  the  small 
body,  with  round-shot  at  its  feet,  slipped  over 
the  side.  He  watched  the  ripples  as  they  died 
away,  and  tears,  which  he  did  not  try  to  con- 
ceal, welled  up  into  his  eyes. 

"Farewell,  my  lad,"  he  whispered,  "I  will 
stand  guard  on  her  where  you  left  off." 

Then  he  went  to  the  quarterdeck,  trying  to 
solve  the  many  problems  which  now  con- 
fronted him,  nor  had  he  found  his  answers 
when  day  came  again. 

From  time  to  time  through  the  night  he 
stole  into  the  cabin  and  stood  by  Nancy's  bed, 
but  gained  little  consolation  there,  for  she  was 
out  of  her  head  with  fever  and  pain,  and  so 
white  it  clutched  his  throat  to  look  at  her. 


YVONNE  285 

Coming  out  of  the  cabin  after  the  last  of 
these  visits,  when  the  sun  was  high  in  the 
heavens,  he  found  the  Spanish  girl  walking  up 
and  down,  very  fresh  and  gay  in  a  yellow  gown 
of  silk,  and  with  a  scarf  about  her  head.  Al- 
though he  scarcely  heeded  her,  so  busy  was  he 
with  thoughts  of  other  things,  many  times  that 
day  he  found  her  in  his  company,  and  once 
she  joined  him  on  the  quarterdeck. 

The  days  that  followed  were  idle  ones,  for 
calm  followed  calm  with  such  persistency  that 
they  could  scarce  make  a  league  a  day,  and 
the  men,  what  with  having  nothing  to  do,  were 
growing  restive  at  the  weather  that  balked 
their  desires. 

There  was  idleness  upon  the  quarterdeck, 
too,  and  when  the  reports  from  Nancy's  sick- 
bed became  more  encouraging,  and  Cherie's 
face  was  bright  once  more  with  hope,  Captain 
Stillingfleet  began  to  take  more  interest  in 
Yvonne,  who  always  had  for  him  a  smiling 
mouth  and  dancing  eyes,  and  such  an  inex- 
haustible supply  of  gowns  and  finery  that  never 
did  he  see  her  twice  the  same. 


286          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

Standing  with  her  at  the  rail  one  day  her 
hand  touched  his,  and  as  she  leaned  towards 
him,  smiling  into  his  eyes,  he  could  feel  her 
hair  blowing  upon  his  cheek,  and  the  warm 
breath  from  her  perfumed  lips.  The  ardent 
look  she  gave  him  changed  to  one  of  vexation 
when  a  sailor,  his  forelock  in  his  hand,  came 
up  and  begged  the  privilege  of  interrupting 
them. 

"What  now,  Jim  Rimble?"  demanded  Cap- 
tain Stillingfleet. 

"Begging  your  pardon,  sir,"  stammered  the 
buccaneer,  "but  the  men  has  appointed  me  to 
ask  if  you  will  step  forward  a  bit,  sir." 

"What  do  they  want?" 

"A  favor,  sir,  to  ask  you,  and  a  little  dis- 
cussion of  what  we  are  to  do  next,  seeing  that 
in  this  ca'm  there's  plenty  of  time  to  think 
things  over." 

"Well,  then,  another  time  will  do,"  said 
Captain  Stillingfleet.  i 

"Asking  your  pardon,  sir,  but  the  men  is 
anxious  to  see  you  now.  What  they  want 
won't  keep." 

A  refusal  of  this  request  was  on  his  tongue, 


YVONNE  287 

but  thinking  the  better  of  it,  he  nodded  an 
assent. 

"I  must  quit  you  for  a  moment,"  he  said, 
turning  to  the  girl,  who  made  no  great  effort 
to  hide  her  chagrin.  And  with  a  bow  he  left 
her  and  walked  to  the  rail  of  the  quarterdeck, 
where  the  men  had  gathered  in  a  body,  gloom 
and  frowns  upon  their  faces. 

"What  is  it,  men?"  he  asked. 

There  was  a  shuffling  of  feet.  They  looked 
then  at  each  other  in  considerable  perplexity, 
but  no  one  spoke. 

"Art  thou  tongue-tied?" 

"Well,"  said  Trueheart  Jackson,  stepping 
forward,  "we  want  to  know  how  we  stand, 
sir." 

"Stand!"  repeated  Captain  Stillingfleet. 
"What  mean  ye  by  that?" 

"Are  we  going  adventuring,  or  what? 
That's  what  we  want  to  know." 

"Aye,"  boomed  Jim  Rimble,  "that's  what 
we  want  to  know." 

"Do  you  blame  me  because  there  is  no 
wind?" 

"The  weather's  about  to  change,  sir,"  said 


288         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

Trueheart  Jackson  again,  "and  there'll  be  a 
breeze  afore  morning.  Now,  the  question  is, 
where  are  we  going  then?" 

"I  am  the  captain  here,"  said  Stillingfleet 
impatiently.  "You  can  leave  that  to  me." 

"Aye,  we  could,  and  would,  if  you  were  on 
the  quarterdeck  of  a  man-o'-war,  but  you're 
on  a  craft  that's  ours,  that  we  took,  eh,  mates  ?" 

"Right  you  are,  Trueheart  Jackson," 
boomed  Jim  Rimble,  "and  we  will  back  you 
up  in  that." 

"Hark  ye,  men,"  said  Godfrey  bluntly,  "I'll 
have  no  mutiny  on  this  ship  so  long  as  I  am 
captain  here.  Mind  that !" 

"There  ain't  going  to  be  no  mutiny — yet," 
said  Jackson,  while  the  men  shuffled  their  feet 
uneasily.  "But  agreements  is  agreements,  and 
we  want  ours  kept." 

"What  agreement?"  demanded  Captain 
Stillingfleet,  studying  the  weather-stained 
faces  before  him,  but  without  letting  the  men 
see  what  was  passing  in  his  own  mind. 

"What  we  wants  to  know  is,  where  do  we 
maroon  these  Dons?" 

"Aye,"    chimed    in    Jim    Rimble,    slapping 


YVONNE  289 

Pierre  upon  the  back  so  hard  that  the  French- 
man's little  eyes  threatened  to  twinkle  them- 
selves right  out  of  his  face,  "where  do  we  set 
'em  ashore,  that's  what  we  wants  to  know — 


now." 


"If  you  haven't  made  up  your  mind,"  said 
Jackson,  taking  a  step  closer  to  the  rail,  "we 
thought  we'd  tell  you  that  the  coast  of  Domingo 
suits  us  well  enough.  The  main  thing  is  to  get 
rid  of  these  Dons.  It  ain't  right  to  keep  'em 
down  below  like  this,  and  it  ain't  'healthy  for 
us,  neither.  And  what's  more,  we  don't  want 
'em  breaking  out  and  getting  us  all  bloody 
again.  So  it'll  be  Domingo,  to-morrow,  un- 
less you  know  another  place." 

"That's  talking,  Trueheart  Jackson,"  said 
Jim  Rimble.  "You  speak  wisdom,  and  we  are 
with  you,  eh,  mates?" 

There  was  a  chorus  of  assent. 

"There  is  no  danger  of  the  Spaniards  taking 
the  ship,"  said  Captain  Stillingfleet,  "so  I  tell 
you  to  let  your  minds  rest  on  that  score.  They 
have  not  the  strength." 

"Aye,  they  have  not  the  strength,  but  what 
they  cannot  do  by  force  they  may  do  by 


290          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

strategy,  and  that  would  be  the  same  for  us." 

"A  petticoat  might  easy  unfasten  them 
hatches,  I'm  thinking,"  said  Jim  Rimble,  after 
a  pause,  "and  that's  what  I'm  worrit  about — 
me  and  my  mates." 

Captain  Stillingfleet's  face  darkened,  for 
Jim  Rimble's  sally  had  been  greeted  by  a  roar 
of  laughter,  and  the  men  jerked  and  nodded 
their  heads  aft,  where  Yvonne  still  stood  by  the 
rail,  waiting. 

"I  am  a  Frenchman,"  said  Bras-de-Mort, 
stepping  into  the  center  of  the  group.  "I 
know  women.  This  Spanish  girl  will  have  you 
wound  around  her  finger  in  another  week,  and 
we'll  wake  up  some  morning  in  irons." 

"Do  you  think  that  I  would  betray  my  own 
countrymen?"  cried  Captain  Stillingfleet,  his 
face  suddenly  full  of  blood. 

"There  ain't  no  telling  what  a  man  wouldn't 
betray  for  a  pretty  gal,"  said  Jim  Rimble,  in  a 
tone  of  deep  conviction — "even  another  gal. 
I  had  a  man  once  that  I'd  bunked  with  for  nigh 
onto  sixteen  year  try  to  stick  a  knife  in  my 
ribs,  and  all  on  account  of  a  wench  that  liked 
me  better  than  she  did  him." 


YVONNE  291 

"We're  fair  uneasy,  sir,"  admitted  True- 
heart  Jackson,  "and  no  offense  to  you,  but  this 
we  want  settled.  Are  you  with  us?" 

"You're  talking  nonsense,  men,"  said  Cap- 
tain Stillingfleet.  "But  here  comes  a  capful  of 
wind.  Get  to  your  stations,  and  I  will  speak 
more  at  large  with  you  on  this  at  another  time. 
Mr.  Quartermaster,  mind  your  helm,"  and  with 
this  he  turned  on  his  heel,  and  left  them. 

The  Spanish  captain,  who  had  the  freedom 
of  the  deck,  was  waiting  for  him  in  the  cabin 
that  had  been  set  aside  for  him  and  his  daugh- 
ter, and,  inviting  him  in,  closed  the  door,  and 
said  to  him  very  frankly : 

"Captain  Stillingfleet,  the  time  has  come  for 
simple  phrases  between  us.  I  see  that  your 
heart  is  not  in  this  enterprise  that  has  resulted 
in  my  ship  being  temporarily  taken  from  me. 
Let  us  have  done  with  indecision,  and  talk  as 
men  who  understand  each  other." 

Captain  Stillingfleet  looked  at  him,  but  said 
nothing. 

"I  know,"  said  Don  Luis,  "who  you  are,  and 
how  you  stand  at  court.  We  serve  his  Majesty 
together,  and  have  here  an  opportunity  to  show 


292          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

our  loyalty.  Say  the  word  and  let  my  men 
on  deck,  to-night,  when  these  pirate  scum  have 
gone  to  sleep  in  their  liquor,  and  we  can  take 
the  ship  and  sail  for  England." 

The  door  had  opened  as  he  was  speaking, 
and  turning,  Godfrey  found  the  Spanish  girl 
at  his  side,  such  a  smile  upon  her  face  as  was 
like  to  turn  his  head. 

"I  heard  what  my  father  proposed. just  now," 
she  said,  springing  lightly  to  the  table  in  front 
of  him,  and  sitting  there,  regarding  him  with 
dark  eyes  full  of  invitation,  her  right  knee 
drawn  up  and  held  in  her  clasped  hands,  her 
red  lips  close  to  his.  "Shall  I  ask  you,  too?" 

"I  know  that  your  business  in  England  is 
urgent,"  said  Don  Luis,  after  a  pause,  "for 
you  have  mentioned  it  to  me.  And  the  king 
has  confidence  in  you." 

"What  a  wonderful  voyage  home  it  would 
be,  Captain  Stillingfleet!"  smiled  Yvonne, 
flashing  at  him  another  look  whose  meaning  he 
was  not  slow  to  read. 

"It  is  true,"  said  Captain  Stillingfleet,  "that 
I  must  go  to  England.  While  I  remain  here, 


YVONNE  293 

his  Majesty's  very  life  may  be  in  danger  for 
want  of  news  that  I  could  take  to  him." 

"There  is  no  other  way,  save  the  one  I  have 
mentioned,"  said  Don  Luis,  a  smile  of  satis- 
faction lighting  up  his  dark  face. 

"There  must  be  another  way.  I  cannot  take 
that  one." 

"Not  even  for  your  king?" 

"Nor  even  for  me?"  asked  Yvonne,  placing 
her  hand  upon  his  arm. 

"I  cannot.     I  have  passed  my  word." 

The  girl's  face  darkened,  and  her  lip  curled. 

"The  men  have  trusted  me." 

"The  men !"  she  was  smiling  again. 

"Poof!  They  are  pirates,  the  riff-raff  of 
society!"  exclaimed  Don  Luis. 

"To  me  they  are  Englishmen,"  replied  Cap- 
tain Stillingfleet,  simply.  "I  must  find  another 
way." 

There  was  a  knock  at  the  door,  and  opening 
it,  Captain  Stillingfleet  looked  at  Cherie  with 
sudden  alarm  springing  to  his  heart. 

"She  is  worse?"  he  asked. 

"Better,"  answered  the  Frenchwoman.     "I 


294         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

thought  you  would  want  to  know  that  she  has 
passed  the  crisis  of  her  fever." 

"Thank  God !"  said  Godfrey  quietly,  stepped 
out  of  the  cabin,  and  went  to  her,  leaving  Don 
Luis  staring  into  his  daughter's  face  with  a 
look  that  would  have  pleased  Jim  Rimble 
hugely. 

Nancy  was  sleeping  quietly,  and  he  stood 
there  for  a  long  time  smiling  down  at  her. 
Presently  he  looked  for  his  handkerchief,  and 
found  in  his  pocket  in  its  place  a  sheaf  of 
papers,  which  he  took  out  and  stared  at  curi- 
ously. They  were  the  packet  he  had  taken 
from  her  bosom,  and  when  he  recalled  the  in- 
cident, until  now  forgotten,  he  would  have  put 
them  back;  but  they  unrolled  in  his  hand,  and 
his  eye  fell  upon  some  writing  on  the  parch- 
ment that  made  him  whistle  with  astonishment. 

He  stepped  on  deck  quickly,  and  sang  out  an 
order  that  brought  the  ship  about.  Then  he 
went  down  to  the  rail  of  the  quarterdeck  again, 
and  sent  for  the  men,  who  came  tumbling  up, 
their  faces  now  wreathed  in  smiles  at  the 
changing  of  the  course,  the  significance  of 
which  was  not  lost  upon  them. 


YVONNE  295 

"Well,  men,"  he  said,  when  they  had  all 
come  up,  "and  after  Domingo  what?" 

"Well,  as  for  that,  sir,  what  say  you?" 
grinned  Trueheart  Jackson,  while  Jim  Rimble 
capered  with  delight. 

"I  say  Merry  England,  lads,"  replied  Cap- 
tain Stillingfleet. 

There  was  a  sullen  growl  at  this. 

"Nay,  men,  hear  me  through.  I  have  some- 
thing for  you  here  better  than  riches." 


CHAPTER  XVI 
JIM  RIMBLE'S  KEEPSAKE 

"How  comes  it,  Captain  Stillingfleet,"  Nancy 
asked  him  one  day,  when  they  were  well  past 
the  Azores,  and  she  sat  on  deck,  wrapped  in  a 
shawl,  with  Three-legs  at  her  feet,  "that  I  see 
aboard  no  signs  of  the  Spanish  prisoners?  I 
had  not  thought  on  them  before.  Where  are 
they — Don  Luis  and  his — daughter?" 

'Tut  ashore,  as  was  the  original  agree- 
ment," answered  Captain  Stillingfleet  .so  in- 
differently that  she  studied  his  face  with  some- 
thing more  like  peace  in  her  soul  than  she  had 
known  for  weeks. 

"On  some  island?" 

"On  the  main  of  Hispaniola.  After  Yellow 
Eyes — after  the  dumb  man  had  gone,  we  put 
in  and  set  them  ashore,  and  left  them  with 
water  and  victuals  sufficient  for  their  needs." 

"So,"  she  thought,  her  being  bathed  in  a 
296 


JIM  RIMBLE'S  KEEPSAKE       297 

great  contentment,  "he  does  not  love  her,  after 
all." 

Then,  after  musing  a  while,  she  added, 
aloud : 

"I  thank  you,  Captain  Stillingfleet,  for  fol- 
lowing my  wishes  when  you  took  command." 

He  looked  a  little  sheepish  at  this,  and  then, 
with  a  wry  smile,  said: 

"By  St.  Bride !  I  had  no  choice  in  the  mat- 
ter." 

"No  choice?     I  do  not  understand." 

"The  men.  I  would  have  had  a  mutiny  on 
my  hands." 

"Oh!" 

"They  said  the  agreement  had  been  reached 
to  maroon  the  Spaniards,  Don  Luis  and  all, 
and  that  did  I  not  choose  to  do  it,  they  would 
seize  the  ship,  which  assuredly  they  would  have 
done,  as  they  did  threaten." 

"So,"  thought  Nancy,  "it  was  not  from  in- 
difference, then,  that  he  left  this  Spanish  girl," 
and  fell  into  serious  mood  once  more,  until  Jim 
Rimble  came  rolling  up  and  held  out  a  bit  of  a 
trinket  on  a  string  with  a  gesture  of  such  hon- 
est devotion  that  her  heart  was  touched. 


298          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

"A  keepsake  from  old  Jim,  miss — captain, 
I  mean,  asking  your  pardon,"  he  stammered 
huskily.  "One  of  them  there  sinkers  o'  mine 
that  set  off  Yellow  Eyes  in  such  a  fit  and  started 
all  the  trouble.  I  hammered  it  out  round  like, 
and  put  my  mark  on  it,  ma'am,  a  cross-bones 
and  skull,  and  run  a  string  through  it.  I 
thought  on  how  you  might  wear  it,  miss — cap- 
tain, I  mean,  as  was,  for  Jim  Rimble's  sake,  to 
remember  him  by,  miss — captain,  I  mean." 

"Why,  that  I  truly  will,  Jim  Rimble," 
laughed  Nancy,  grasping  his  hand.  "I  shall 
wear  it  for  you,  and  in  memory  of  the  profes- 
sion I  entered  but  did  not  practise.  But  for 
the  high-handed  proceeding  of  Captain  Stil- 
lingfleet in  running  off  with  our  ship,  I  should 
have  been  a  pirate  like — " 

She  stopped  suddenly,  and  fell  to  musing. 
Presently  she  asked : 

"Master  Stillingfleet,  how  comes  it  these 
fellows  return  so  willingly  with  you  to  Eng- 
land?" 

Captain  Stillingfleet  chuckled. 

"Why,  niadame,"  said  he,  "you  yourself  pro- 
vided a  scheme  whereby  they  could  all  go  back, 


JIM  RIMBLE'S  KEEPSAKE      299 

and  I  told  them  of  it;  and  hugely  pleased  they 
were,  indeed." 

"I  provided  a  scheme?     I  know  of  none." 

"Aye." 

He  pulled  from  his  coat  a  packet  of  papers, 
and  in  a  flash  she  recognized  them. 

"Why,"  said  she,  starting  up  excitedly,  "I 
have  seen  those  before." 

"As  I  have  surmised." 

"I  found  them  in  the  bosom  of  your  shirt," 
he  said,  while  Nancy  hung  her  head,  "when 
you  were  wounded,  and  kept  them  for  you. 
And  I  concluded  that  you  had  brought  them  off 
with  you  from  the  Oxjord,  when  she  was 
blown  up." 

"And  so  I  did,  to  be  sure.  Captain  Collier 
passed  them  to  me  a  moment  or  two  before 
the  explosion  which  killed  him  took  place.  I 
remembered  no  more  until  I  found  myself  hi 
the  sea." 

"You  must  have  thrust  them  within  your 
shirt  to  save  them,  and  so  come  off  with  them 
safely." 

"  Tis  possible." 

"  'Tis  likely." 


300          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

"  'Tis  lucky,  too.  Those  papers  contain  par- 
dons for  such  as  Captain  Collier  might  wish  to 
favor,  for  so  he  told  me." 

"Aye,  that  is  true,"  said  Captain  Stillingfleet. 
"Pardons  in  blank;  leastways  they  were  in 
blank." 

"Were?" 

"See,  I  have  filled  them  out  in  the  names  of 
those  among  us  who  need  them." 

"And  generous  of  you,  I  call  it,  too,  to  think 
of  them  and  try  to  aid  them,"  she  said. 
"Sometimes,  Master  Stillingfleet,  I  have 
thought  you  did  not  have  a  heart.  And  it  was 
clever  of  you  to  think  of  it,  too." 

"Necessity  sharpened  my  wits." 

"How  so?" 

"The  men  fell  to  grumbling  before  the  mast. 
They  feared  we  did  not  have  enough  treasure 
to  buy  pardons  for  all,  and  were  hot  for  seek- 
ing more.  In  desperation,  I  thought  of  this 
scheme,  and  so  wrote  their  names  down  upon 
the  pardons.  This  satisfied  them,  and  so  they 
go  back  to  England  willingly  enough." 

"Can  they  return  in  safety?" 

"Aye,  under  the  king's  name  they  can  walk 


JIM  RIMBLE'S  KEEPSAKE       301 

the  streets  of  London  free  men,  and  none  may 
touch  them." 

"And  with  gold  in  their  pockets?" 

"That  is  as  may  be,"  he  answered. 

But  this  did  not  disturb  her,  for,  thought 
she,  if  there  was  to  be  war  with  Spain  again 
below  the  tropic,  she  and  her  men  could  profit 
from  it  as  well  as  any.  Presently  she  added: 

"Let  me  take  the  papers,  Captain  Stilling- 
fleet.  I  would  examine  them,  for  they  have  set 
my  mind  at  rest  upon  a  subject  that  hath  been 
causing  me  great  perplexity." 

They  were  walking  now  into  the  round- 
house, where  Nancy,  seizing  a  quill,  while 
Captain  Stillingfleet  stepped  out  for  a  moment 
to  issue  some  order,  contrived  to  scribble  some- 
thing upon  them  which  he,  upon  taking  the 
packet  from  her  and  returning  it  to  his  pocket, 
failed  to  observe. 

What  to  do  with  the  black  man,  the  one  who 
had  assisted  the  Fleming  in  their  escape  from 
d'Ogeron  at  Tortuga,  also  gave  her  great  con- 
cern, for  that  she  had  promised  to  transport 
him  back  to  Guinea  she  by  no  means  forgot ;  but 
the  negro,  a  very  intelligent  and  honest  fellow, 


302         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

set  her  mind  at  rest  upon  this  score.  Coming 
up  to  her  one  day,  when  they  had  passed  the 
fishing  fleets  in  the  Channel,  and  were  in  sight 
of  the  white  cliffs  of  Dover,  he  besought  her, 
with  so  many  manifestations  of  devotion  that 
she  was  touched,  to  take  him  into  her  service 
and  let  him  abide  with  her  in  England,  that 
she  consented. 

"But  how  comes  it,  Kololo,"  for  so  he  called 
himself,  "that  you  would  rather  go  into  Eng- 
land with  me  than  return  to  your  own  coun- 
try?" she  asked. 

"Me  no  find  my  country  any  more,"  he  an- 
swered. "My  country  move  all  about,"  from 
which  she  understood  that  the  tribe  to  which 
he  belonged  had  no  fixed  abode,  but  was 
nomadic. 

"But  haven't  you  a  wife  in  your  country, 
Kololo?"  she  insisted. 

"Me  have  wife  long  time — no  have  wife 
now,"  he  returned,  rolling  the  whites  of  his 
eyes  at  her  so  ludicrously  that  she  could  not 
forbear  to  smile.  "Some  mans  have  Kololo's 
wife  now.  Kololo  get  plenty  more  wif es,  one, 
two,  three,  maybe.  Kololo  rich  now." 


JIM  RIMBLE'S  KEEPSAKE      303 

By  this  he  referred  to  the  fact  that  he  had 
been  awarded  his  share  of  the  spoils,  as  one 
of  the  men  before  the  mast,  and,  indeed,  he 
had  proved  himself  a  natural  sailor  and  very 
nimble  in  going  aloft,  even  in  the  roughest 
weather.  Nancy  tried  to  explain  to  him  that 
people  in  England  had  but  one  wife,  but  he 
either  would  not,  or  could  not,  understand  this. 
So  she  gave  it  over  and  consented  to  take  him 
into  her  service,  at  which  he  seemed  hugely  de- 
lighted. 

They  arrived  at  length  in  the  Thames  on  an 
April  afternoon,  and  came  to  anchor  at  Lon- 
don. 

Then  such  a  stir  was  created  as  had  not  been 
known  in  England  since  good  Queen  Bess  had 
gone  aboard  the  Golden  Hind  to  brave  the 
wrath  of  Spain  and  make  of  Francis  Drake  a 
knight,  for  word  of  the  treasure  stowed  away 
in  the  hold  of  the  Snapdragon  spread  through 
all  the  ale-houses  and  taverns  where  the  men 
rushed  so  soon  as  they  could  contrive  to  leave 
the  ship,  until  the  story  of  the  Devon  girl  who 
had  rescued  thirty  Englishmen  from  the 
French  in  the  Indies  was  the  talk  of  the  town, 


304          BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

and  John  Evelyn  himself  went  down,  with  some 
of  the  gentlemen  of  the  Admiralty,  to  see  the 
British  ship  they  had  retaken  from  the  Span- 
iards, and  verify  the  tales  of  gold  that  had 
reached  even  the  king,  and  greatly  astonished 
were  they  to  find  in  command  Godfrey  Stilling- 
fleet,  who  had  long  been  given  over  for  dead. 

Nothing  would  do  but  Mr.  Evelyn  must 
fetch  them  straight  away  to  Whitehall,  al- 
though Nancy  would  rather  far  have  gone  to 
her  cousin  Mountf  ord's  house,  as  well  to  learn 
news  of  her  father  and  her  old  friend  Colonel 
Sidney,  as  to  deliver  their  message  to  her  kins- 
man, the  importance  of  which,  she  feared,  had 
been  destroyed  by  her  long  absence  in  the  trop- 
ics, making  the  news  she  bore  stale.  But  they 
would  not  hear  of  this,  and  so  carried  her  off 
with  them  in  a  coach,  waiting  only  to  put  the 
Snapdragon  under  the  protection  of  the  cus- 
toms officers. 

Charles  Stuart  was  not  the  man  to  be  un- 
moved by  so  stirring  a  tale  of  adventure,  and  as 
Captain  Stillingfleet  described  how  Nancy  had 
come  to  him  and  the  English  pirates  in  the 


JIM  RIMBLE'S  KEEPSAKE       305 

night,  in  the  French  governor's  castle  on  the 
cliffs  of  Tortuga,  and  had  called  to  them  in  the 
darkness  a  message  of  freedom,  the  sparkle 
in  his  eyes  grew  more  bright  and  his  face 
beamed. 

"  Tis  a  pity,  Mr.  Evelyn,"  said  he,  "that  we 
have  not  such  tarpaulins  in  the  fleet  as  these 
men  who  have  been  fighting  our  battles  below 
the  tropic,  else  would  we  have  had  greater  suc- 
cess lately  against  the  Dutch  and  the  Turk. 
Yet,  methinks  your  favorite  theory  as  to  the 
value  of  discipline  receives  a  rude  blow  from 
this  account." 

"Nay,  sire,"  replied  Mr.  Evelyn,  whose  keen 
interest  in  the  welfare  of  his  Majesty's  navy 
had  made  him  an  authority  on  all  such  mat- 
ters at  court,  "but  does  not  the  fact  that  it 
was  Master  Stillingfleet  who  took  command 
at  a  critical  juncture,  and  so  brought  them  off 
safely  with  all  their  booty  from  that  fellow 
Morgan — who  must  be  a  very  devil  of  a  cap- 
tain, an'  I  misjudge  him  not,  and  will  be  heard 
from  one  day  to  the  credit  and  glory  of  our 
arms — does  not  the  fact  that  Captain  Stilling- 


306         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

fleet,  as  a  gentleman  of  the  fleet,  had  been 
trained  to  command,  but  prove  the  soundness 
of  my  contention?" 

"It  doth  seem  to  me  that  Captain  Stilling- 
fleet  did  but  conduct  himself  indifferently  well, 
since  he  assumed  command  of  the — what  is 
the  name,  it  doth  please  me  hugely,  ah — the 
Snapdragon,  only  when  the  maid  had  been 
put  out  of  the  combat,  as  it  were,"  returned 
the  king  dryly. 

Nancy,  accompanied  by  Godfrey  Stillingfleet 
and  the  gentlemen  of  the  Admiralty,  had  ar- 
rived at  Whitehall  to  find  there  the  usual  gay 
and  dissolute  assemblage.  In  the  gallery  a 
great  crowd  of  lords  and  ladies  were  at  cards 
or  dice,  and  Nancy  had  grown  suddenly  timid 
as  she  beheld  so  many  of  the  women  whom 
she  had  been  taught  to  regard  as  creatures  of 
vice  and  shame,  regarding  her  with  ill-con- 
cealed astonishment  written  on  their  painted 
cheeks  and  lifted  eyebrows  as  she  was  hurried 
through  one  of  the  long  corridors  towards  the 
king's  private  apartment. 

Charles,  toying  with  a  spaniel,  was  seated 
at  a  table  looking  at  a  collection  of  medallions 


JIM  RIMBLE'S  KEEPSAKE      307 

which  a  goldsmith  had  spread  out  before  him 
for  his  inspection,  and  his  Majesty's  interest 
had  been  divided  at  first  between  the  trinkets 
and  the  story  which  Captain  Stillingfleet,  at 
the  request  of  Mr.  Evelyn,  had  begun  to  tell. 

But  as  he  progressed,  the  king's  attention 
was  more  and  more  attracted  to  the  slender  girl 
who  stood  shrinkingly  in  the  shadow  of  a  mag- 
nificent cabinet,  until  now  he  regarded  her  with 
such  frank  admiration  that  Nancy,  feeling 
upon  her  those  dark  eyes  which  were  never  so 
agreeably  occupied  as  in  the  inspection  of  a 
beautiful  woman,  suddenly  felt  herself  grow 
shy  and  her  cheeks  to  burn. 

"And  how  much  treasure  have  you  brought 
off  with  you?"  he  demanded  suddenly,  when  he 
had  surveyed  her  critically  at  his  leisure  from 
beneath  his  heavy  eyelids. 

"We  estimate  it  at  300,000  crowns,  my 
liege,"  replied  Nancy,  "but  I  do  not  know  what 
the  sum  will  prove  to  be  exactly,  until  it  hatb 
been  appraised." 

"A  goodly  fortune,"  commented  his  Majesty. 

"And  would  have  been  larger,  but  for  the 
lead  which  we  did  practically  give  away  to 


308         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

Captain  Morgan,  a  vast  quantity  of  it,  sire, 
which  he  did  agree  to  take  in  trade  for  pro- 
visions and  other  goods,  yet  cheated  us  in  at 
the  last." 

"  'Tis  ample,  what  you  have,"  returned 
Charles  with  a  grimace.  "Would  to  God  it 
were  mine,"  he  added  petulantly,  "and  I  war- 
rant I  should  quickly  be  rid  of  this  beggarly 
Parliament  that  doth  trouble  me  sorely.  Nay, 
Sir  Godfrey,"  he  smiled  quickly,  raising  his 
delicate  fingers,  while  Captain  Stillingfleet, 

0 

overcome  by  the  knighthood  that  had  been  so 
nonchalantly  conferred  upon  him,  dropped  to 
his  knee  and  kissed  his  sovereign's  hand,  "take 
me  not  seriously.  I  do  but  jest,  nor  offer  me 
a  share  in  this  treasure,  for  I  will  take  the 
will  for  the  deed. 

"As  for  my  friend,  Don  Luis,  I  can  see  him 
now,  up  to  his  neck  in  the  jungle,  beset  by 
mosquitoes  and  crocodiles,  and  what  other 
vermin  there  be  in  those  parts.  Nathless,  an' 
he  could  not  take  care  of  his  own,  I  shall  not 
worry  my  head  about  his  plight,  for  he  did  ever 
love  me  best  when  my  purse  was  fullest,  and 
hath  bled  me  white  for  the  scantv  service  he 


JIM  RIMBLE'S  KEEPSAKE       309 

«0tt 

did  ever  render  me — nor  am  I  sure  he  did  not 
come  by  this  English  ship  by  foul  means  and 
treachery.  And  since  he  is  not  here  to  claim 
the  lands  in  Devonshire  I  had  reserved  for 
him,  I  dare  say  I  can  do  no  better  than  by  con- 
ferring them  upon  you. 

"But,  believe  me,"  he  added,  turning  to 
Nancy,  "I  reward  him  thus  only  that  through 
him  I  may  serve  you,  who  have  brought  such 
honor  to  our  arms  and  stimulated  our  fleet 
which  doth  sadly  need  such  inspiration." 

With  this,  the  king  suddenly  took  one  of 
Nancy's  hands  within  his  own,  and  placed  it 
in  Sir  Godfrey's  mighty  fist,  whereat  both  of 
them  reddened  so  furiously  that  the  king  ex- 
claimed with  mock  rapture  he  had  never  seen 
the  like  in  Whitehall,  and  did  believe  a  similar 
thing  had  never  happened  before  within  those 
walls,  for  that  they  were  the  first  blushes  he 
had  observed  there. 

"Nay,  my  liege,"  stammered  Captain  Stil- 
lingfleet,  "since  she  alone  is  deserving  of  your 
Majesty's  favors,  as  most  cheerfully  and  gladly 
do  I  admit,  I  pray  you,  confer  these  estates 
upon  her  alone." 


310         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

"What!"  cried  Charles,  leaning  back  in  his 
chair,  a  look  of  astonishment  upon  his  hand- 
some face.  "Do  you  then  decline  the  lady's 
hand?  By  God's  light!  The  incident  is 
unique.  Never  before  has  it  happened — nor 
would  I  have  believed  it  could !" 

"Sire,  'tis  through  no  fault  of  my  own — the 
lady  is  promised  to  another." 

"Thou  art  a  simpleton,  sir.  I  should  make 
thee  Duke  of  Numskull !  Will  you  tell  me  to 
my  face  that  Charles  Stuart  knows  naught  of 
women?  This  lass  hath  felt  thy  lips  and  is 
afire  to  feel  them  again.  And  now,  be  off  with 
you,  and,  when  you  go  upon  your  honeymoon, 
you  might  easily  combine  business  with  pleas- 
ure by  spending  it  in  Paris,  where  I  have  other 
business  of  the  kind  that  took  you  there  be- 
fore that  awaits  your  attention." 

"Nay,  my  liege,"  burst  forth  Nancy,  "but 
there  is  no  need  now  for  that." 

The  king  regarded  her  with  amazement, 
looking  in  great  perplexity  from  her  to  Cap- 
tain Stillingfleet,  and  then  back  to  her  again. 
At  last  he  said: 

"What  know  you  of  this  affair?" 


JIM  RIMBLE'S  KEEPSAKE      311 

She  hung  her  head  and  was  silent. 

"This  boy  hath  been  babbling,  I'll  be  bound. 
What  say  you  now,  Mr.  Evelyn,  of  the  value 
of  discipline?" 

"  Twas  nothing  much  that  he  said,  sire," 
said  Nancy  softly.  "  'Twas  only  a  careless 
word  dropped,  and  would  have  meant  nothing 
to  another.  But,  my  liege,  I  am  John  Chilling- 
worth's  daughter." 

The  king  in  his  excitement  sprang  to  his  feet 
and  stood  looking  down  at  her. 

"Daughter  of  John  Chillingworth !"  he  ex- 
claimed. "Daughter  to  that  arch-traitor !" 

He  fell  into  a  reverie,  then  threw  back  his 
head  and  laughed  that  singularly  winning 
Stuart  laugh. 

"Odsfish !  Solomon  was  right !  Why,  here 
I  have  gone  and  conferred  upon  John  Chilling- 
worth's  daughter's  husband  that  is  to  be,  the 
estates  which  he  hath  forfeited  for  his  trea- 
son." 

"But,  sire,"  said  Godfrey  Stillingfleet,  blush- 
ing furiously  and  clasping  and  unclasping  his 
hands  nervously,  "I  fear  your  Majesty  did  not 
understand  that  I  cannot  accept  this  gracious 


312         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

gift  for  reasons — for  reasons  that  make  it  im- 
possible— the  lady,  sire,  is  promised  to — " 

"As  for  you,  sir!"  interrupted  the  king,  as 
if  he  had  not  heard  him.  "Upon  my  soul,  for 
a  secret  mission  I  would  rather  trust  this  cun- 
ning maid  here  than  any  young  blood  in 
Christendom." 

Nancy  smiled,  for  the  words  carried  her 
straight  back  to  the  little  lodging  over  the 
pastry-cook's  shop  in  Lille,  and  those  that  Gen- 
eral Sidney  had  spoken  to  her  father. 

"Well,  sir,"  the  king  was  saying,  "since  I 
have  made  over  Chillingworth's  estates  to  his 
daughter,  through  you,  we  will  have  done  with 
this  traitor  quest,  so  leave  him  be  in  peace,  un- 
til such  time  as  he  shall  come  to  England  with 
his  plots  and  cursed  conspiracies." 

"Nay,  my  liege,"  returned  Nancy,  making 
him  a  courtesy,  "but  he  can  return  to  England 
as  safely  as  any  man,  and  Algernon  Sidney, 
too,  since  they  have  the  protection  of  the  king's 
pardon." 

"Pardon!"  cried  his  Majesty.  "I  know 
naught  of  a  pardon  for  either  of  these  regi- 
cides." 


JIM  RIMBLE'S  KEEPSAKE      313 

"Aye,"  said  Nancy,  smiling  frankly  and  un- 
abashed into  his  eyes,  so  that  he  was  as  struck 
with  the  freshness  and  innocence  of  her  youth 
as  with  her  girlish  beauty,  "aye,  for  both  of 
them,  sire." 

With  this  she  suddenly  drew  from  Godfrey's 
pocket  the  packet  of  papers  she  had  first  taken 
from  the  hand  of  Captain  Collier  on  the  Ox- 
ford, and  extending  them  toward  the  king, 
cried: 

"See,  your  Majesty — the  royal  seal !" 

"What  means  this?"  demanded  the  king, 
turning  the  papers  over  in  his  hand  and  ad- 
dressing himself  to  Captain  Stillingfleet. 

"These,  sire,  be  the  pardons  which  were  fur- 
nished to  Captain  Collier  for  such  of  those 
English  derelicts  in  the  Indies  who,  needing 
them,  might  gain  them  for  some  exploit  in  the 
service  of  your  Majesty's  government.  When 
Captain  Collier  was  killed  in  the  explosion,  as 
I  described  to  you,  the  papers  came  into  our 
possession,  and  having  among  us  many  worthy 
fellows,  your  devoted  subjects,  who  could  not 
otherwise  come  back  to  Old  England,  to  the 
glory  and  credit  of  your  kingdom,  I  made  bold, 


314         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

sire,  knowing  full  well  the  purposes  for  which 
they  had  been  issued,  to  use  them  as  you  your- 
self had  intended." 

"Of  that  I  have  no  complaint  to  make,"  re- 
plied Charles.  "But  since  the  rebels  Chilling- 
worth  and  Sidney  were  not  among  you,  how 
their  names  appear  here  above  my  seal,  I  can- 
not make  out." 

"Yet  'tis  very  simple,  my  liege,"  said  Nancy. 

"Simple!"  fretted  the  king. 

"Aye,  my  liege — I  wrote  them  there  my- 
self." Saying  which,  she  assisted  the  king  in 
unfolding  the  papers,  and  pointing  to  the  list 
of  names  upon  the  pardon  indicated  those  of 
Sidney  and  Chillingworth  among  the  rest. 

"Am  I  ever  to  be  thwarted?"  cried  the  king. 
Then  the  smile  came  back  again  to  his  dark 
face.  "Nathless,  and  I  have  put  my  name 
upon  it,  there  it  shall  stand,"  he  said.  "So 
worry  not,  my  child,  and  send  for  thy  father 
and  his  friend  when  thou  wilt,  and  so  they  com- 
port themselves  as  my  faithful  and  devoted 
subjects  in  the  future  they  will  hear  naught  of 
me  again." 

He  turned  to  go,  the  interview  at  an  end, 


JIM  RIMBLE'S  KEEPSAKE      315 

when  his  eye  caught  a  glimpse  of  Jim  Rimble's 
keepsake  hung  by  its  string  about  the  girl's 
neck,  and  spreading  it  upon  his  palm: 

"Odsfish!  Mr.  Isaacs,"  said  he,  "here  is 
a  medallion  more  curious  than  any  in  your 
collection.  See,  the  cross-bones  and  skull. 
Some  pirate's  masterpiece,  no  doubt." 

"Right  willingly  would  I  present  it  to  you, 
my  liege,"  said  Nancy,  "were  it  not  for  the 
fact  that  it  is  a  keepsake,  given  to  me  by  Jim 
Rimble,  the  sailor  I  did  tell  you  of,  who  hath 
exacted  a  promise  from  me  to  wear  it  in  his 
remembrance." 

"I  recall  him — the  singing  fisherman," 
laughed  the  king. 

"Aye,  that  is  the  one,"  replied  Nancy. 
"And  this  was  one  of  his  angling  sinkers,  fash- 
ioned rudely  into  the  shape  you  see  it.  'Tis 
without  value,  being  but  a  bit  of  lead — a  chip 
from  one  of  the  pigs  that  Master  Stilling- 
fleet  did  sell  to  Captain  Morgan  for  cannon 
balls.  Yet  would  I  wear  it  for  him." 

"Lead,  say  you !"  exclaimed  Mr.  Isaacs,  the 
goldsmith,  who  had  taken  Jim  Rimble's  keep- 
sake into  his  hand  and  had  been  examining  it. 


316         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

"Nay,  Mistress  Chillingworth,  say  not  so — 
'tis  solid  silver,  ma'am!" 

As  they  all  stood  then,  looking  into  one  an- 
other's faces,  the  sound  of  laughter  and  music 
came  faintly  floating  to  them  from  the  merry- 
makers in  the  gallery.  Mr.  Evelyn  was  the 
first  to  break  the  silence. 

"And  you  say,"  said  he,  "that  this  piece  was 
chipped  from  one  of  the  pigs  of  lead  sold  to 
Captain  Morgan  at  the  pirates'  island?" 

Nancy,  inarticulate,  nodded  in  assent. 

"Sold,  and  never  paid  for  in  any  way  so- 
ever," finished  Captain  Stillingfleet.  "We 
didn't  get  a  ham !" 

The  king  snorted,  a  genuine  plebeian  snort, 
and  turned  upon  young  Stillingfleet  a  pitying 
glance. 

"And  how  many  hams  and  shoulders  would 
have  recompensed  you  for  this  loss,  think  you  ? 
I  warrant  you  'twould  take  the  fleets  of  Eng- 
land to  fetch  them  home,  unless  you  have  as 
poor  a  head  for  commerce  as  you  have  for 
love." 

"And  were  all  the  pigs  of  lead  the  same?" 
asked  Mr.  Isaacs. 


JIM  RIMBLE'S  KEEPSAKE       317 

"They  were  all  alike,"  replied  the  girl. 

"How  many  of  them,  did  you  say?" 

"A  huge  number,  seven  hundred  and  eighty 
in  all." 

Mr.  Evelyn  took  from  his  pocket  a  small 
notebook  and  crayon,  and  figuring  for  a  mo- 
ment: 

"My  liege,"  he  said,  turning  to  the  king,  "in 
all  probability  Captain  Henry  Morgan  is  bom- 
barding Maracaibo  at  this  moment  with  silver 
cannon  balls  worth  upward  of  200,000  pounds. 
An'  he  take  the  place,  'twill  be  the  most  costly 
victory  ever  your  Majesty  won." 

Charles  regarded  Master  Stillingfleet  with 
such  a  look,  at  this,  that  the  poor  fellow  stood 
twisting  his  hat  in  his  hands. 

"I  did  not  know,"  he  stammered. 

"Assuredly  not,  nor  had  you  any  way  to 
learn,"  said  the  king,  "since  you  needs  must 
hang  the  only  one  among  you  with  enough  rum- 
gumption  to  see  a  fortune  when  it  lay  before 
your  eyes." 

"I — I  do  not  understand,  sire,"  said  God- 
frey. "I  hanged  no  one  save  Yellow  Eyes, 
the  tongueless  man,  who — " 


318         BEYOND  THE  SUNSET 

"And  who  else  had  an  ounce  of  sense  in  all 
that  tattered  crew  ?"  said  Charles. 

"The  dumb  man!" 

'  'Sdeath!  He  might  have  made  thee  rich, 
and  for  reward  you  let  him  dangle  from  a 
spar." 

"Nay,  your  Majesty,"  said  Captain  Stilling- 
fleet  with  spirit,  "I  turned  him  off  for  all  the 
crimes  he  did  commit  against  this  lady  here, 
and  had  he  told  me  then,  when  he  had  shot 
her  down,  where  I  might  find  a  city  paved  with 
gold,  nathless  I  would  have  hanged  him  still." 

"I  had  not  suspected  thee  of  such  an  inter- 
est in  the  wench,"  smiled  Charles,  taking 
Nancy's  hand.  "Is  there  naught  else  I  can  do 
for  you,  my  child?"  he  asked. 

"Well,  yes,  your  Majesty,"  replied  Mistress 
Chillingworth,  feeling  for  Godfrey's  hand,  and 
taking  it  in  her  own,  "you  might  give  us  your 
blessing." 

"But  I  thought  you  were  promised  to  an- 
other," smiled  Charles,  a  twinkle  in  his  eye. 

"Not  to  another,  my  liege,"  answered  the 
girl,  "but  to  this  one,  as  you  did  guess,  and  I 


JIM  RIMBLE'S  KEEPSAKE       319 

did  see  just  now  in  his  eyes  a  light  that  makes 
me  bold  to  speak." 

Captain  Stillingfleet  threw  his  shoulders 
back  with  a  gasp,  and  she  felt  her  fingers 
crushed  in  his  great  palm. 

"Bless  you  both,"  laughed  the  king.  "You 
need  a  guardian,  you  two,  and  I  will  serve  as 
well  as  any  other  you  could  find.  My  boy, 
when  you  bring  Lady  Stillingfleet  back  to  Lon- 
don, do  not  forget  us  at  Whitehall." 

He  turned,  and  left  them  looking  into  each 
other's  eyes. 


THE  END 


A     000  040  382     4 


